Eighth Cycle of the Council Discusses Political Violence During the Electoral Period

The 8th cycle of the Media and Democracy Council focused on the theme “Political Violence in the Electoral Context” and took place between September and October 2024, during the municipal elections in the country. Its goal was to address political violence during this period, targeting candidates but also including other categories such as activists, journalists, and militants. The guests were Andrei Rodrigues, Director-General of the Federal Police; Marcela Duarte, Product Manager at Lupa; Cris Tardáguila, Founder of Lupa and editor of the Ebulição newsletter; and Leonel Radde, a police officer known for his work against neo-Nazi groups. The workshop conducted by Cris, Marcela, and Leonel, titled “How Violence Manifests in the Digital Environment and Strategies to Combat It,” focused on data collected for the Ebulição newsletter, which monitors messages from over 80,000 public groups on WhatsApp and Telegram. To illustrate their findings, Cris highlighted four cases from São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro: the PCC case in São Paulo, the Tabata and Marina Helena case (also in São Paulo), the “Lulismo vs. Bolsonarismo” narrative in Rio de Janeiro, and the infamous “chair-throwing incident” involving Datena and Marçal during the electoral debate for São Paulo’s mayoral race. The Datena-Marçal case was the most notable. According to the analysis, the sentiment expressed in groups about the incident was predominantly negative, generating disgust toward politics, resulting in disengagement and alienation. Deputy Leonel discussed the need to distinguish between viewpoints, insults, and fake news. He also described the far-right ideology as one that seeks power through force, at any cost, and often with violence, disregarding institutions and displaying hatred toward science and academia. Additionally, Leonel explained how his office monitors neo-Nazi groups and young people planning school attacks via social media platforms. Finally, in the plenary meeting with Andrei Rodrigues, various episodes where the democratic process had been challenged were addressed. Rodrigues highlighted the Federal Police’s efforts during the electoral period, including the development of a project aimed at preventing violence in 2024. He stressed the crucial role of social media and the involvement of all actors, drawing lessons from the attempted coup on January 8 to better tackle this issue. The director presented some figures to exemplify these actions during the elections: 200 circumstantial reports filed; 100 investigations initiated; over 400 individuals detained; more than R$21 million in cash seized; over R$50 million in total assets confiscated. On the first day of the first-round election alone, over R$600,000 in cash was seized across Brazil.