When Brazil’s presidential candidate Flávio Bolsonaro bested incumbent Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva by more than 2 million votes in the first round of the country’s election earlier this month, the left was caught off guard.The increased likelihood of a far-right Bolsonaro family member returning to office spurred an unprecedented engagement in digital activism and protests on a scale not seen in years, as the left mobilised in the hope of securing a Lula victory.The huge online mobilisation marks a turn for this political camp. In Brazil, but also globally, the left has struggled to compete with the far-right’s quick embrace and savvy usage of digital platforms, which experts say has had an impact on voting.Many leftists are haunted by the presidency of the right-wing candidate’s father, Jair Bolsonaro (2019-2022). They recall his mishandling of the COVID-19 pandemic, the surge in deforestation in the Amazon rainforest as well as his attempt to overthrow democracy after his 2022 defeat to Lula, which led to his 27-year prison sentence.The recent flurry of activity has produced results. Polls indicate the race has tightened. More than 33 million out of nearly 160 million eligible voters abstained in the first round, representing a reservoir of votes that Lula hopes to tap into to reverse Bolsonaro’s lead.On Tuesday, October 20, Lula reached 200 million interactions on social media since October 5 whereas Bolsonaro had 54 million, according to Projeto Brief data agency in a study conducted for local newspaper Estadao.Between the campaign’s launch on August 16 and up to the first round, Lula and Bolsonaro had more or less the same number of interactions, according to data analytics company Bites. But since the beginning of the second round, the incumbent’s profiles received around 111 million interactions against Bolsonaro’s 31 million, the group said.“Whether they win or lose the second round, the Brazilian left may have begun – in this 2026 election – its process of digital transformation,” said Bites director Manoel Fernandes in an October 17 statement.Congress has shifted to the rightMillions of people have spontaneously poured onto the streets in Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, in what analysts say are the biggest leftist demonstrations at least since 2013.The left’s mobilisation on the streets and online has sparked a pushback from supporters of Flávio Bolsonaro, who have organised offline events and digital campaigns in response.Both the judiciary and the legislative would be more favourable to a Flávio Bolsonaro presidency than the institutions were during his father’s term, potentially teeing up a powerful far-right presidency which could durably transform Brazil’s political landscape.The next president will nominate at least three justices to the country’s top court and Bolsonaro would enjoy support in both the lower and upper houses of Congress after his party made significant gains in the October 4 election.(AP)