Explaining Brazil #207: Anitta enters the presidential race

Anitta is arguably the most famous Brazilian pop star of the moment and seems to be a ubiquitous presence in the country’s music scene and television. 

In March 2022, she became the first Brazilian artist to ever appear in Spotify’s Global Top 10, one of the most critical metrics in music today. She spent two days at number one with her hit song “Envolver.”

Last week she announced her endorsement of former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva in this year’s election, some three months before the country goes to the polls.

On social media, Anitta clarified that her endorsement of Lula is merely pragmatic, focused on ousting incumbent far-right President Jair Bolsonaro, and stressed that she is not a supporter of Lula nor his Workers’ Party.

But even with the buzz that these celebrity endorsements create, what do they really mean when the time comes for Brazilians to cast their vote? That’s what we’re going to try and answer this week.

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Guest:

• David Nemer is a professor at the University of Virginia’s media studies department, and a faculty associate at Harvard University’s Berkman Klein Center and Princeton University’s Brazil Lab. He’s also a member of the Washington Brazil Lab.
• He wrote “Technology of the Oppressed: Inequity and the Digital Mundane in Favelas of Brazil.”

This episode used music from Uppbeat. License codes: U56BMQCR8PDBKVVJ, OBKUDBD2CVEZQR7W, EW494MSSZBFBS9T3, WOJMUZQ0SGFECBWN.

Background reading:

• Strongly entrepreneurial while able to market her authenticity, Anitta’s songs in English and Spanish aim to win her international renown – and she has much of Brazil backing her.
• Pro-Bolsonaro country artists came under fire after criticizing singers helped by a government cultural incentive program — but it turned out they were receiving huge amounts of public money themselves.
• Early in July, Anitta said she would back former President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, the election’s frontrunner. But she warned Lula’s Workers’ Party that it must refrain from using her name or image as part of its political ads.
• Data from the latest Statista Global Consumer Survey shows that social media influencers in Brazil wield the biggest power over people’s purchasing decisions — with almost half of consumers saying they choose a brand or a product based on endorsements from celebrities online.

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