Podcast

Explaining Brazil #208: Electoral gears start to heat up

The main candidacies in Brazil's presidential election in October have been made official by their parties. We discuss what that changes in the race

Brazil’s electoral calendar is strict, dating back to the pre-internet days when TV and radio were the only platforms of political advertising, and campaigners would hand out flyers at street corners and traffic lights. The campaign only formally starts on August 16. Until then, candidates are barred from explicitly soliciting votes. 

They can, however, do everything but, which is why the leading names for federal and local races have already been in campaign mode for ages. Social media, for instance, is already chock full of political ads and promos.

Since last week though, Brazil entered a critical point in its election run-up: party convention season. And these are often very different from what you see in other countries, especially in the U.S.

Today, we’ll explain what Brazilian party conventions mean — and what they change in the race from now on.

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Guest:

  • Euan Marshall is an editor at The Brazilian Report and also hosts the Explaining Brazil podcast in the absence of Gustavo Ribeiro. 

This episode used music from Uppbeat. License codes: RMZNWEJWBJJKREIT, MM4CWEZYKBXPSHOR, 7JNE1YBFUJQWEIYH.

Background reading on party conventions:

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