Brazil’s Presidential Race Turns to Music as Lula and Flávio Bolsonaro Battle Through Campaign Jingles
Brazil’s 2026 presidential race is increasingly being fought through music and social media, with President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Senator Flávio Bolsonaro using sharply different campaign jingles to reinforce their political identities ahead of the October election.
Lula’s campaign has revived a funk carioca classic with “Rap do Silva,” adapting MC Bob Rum’s 1995 track into a song that highlights the president’s working-class background and political rise. The campaign video mixes archival moments from Lula’s public life with language intended to connect him with ordinary Brazilians.
The choice of funk is deliberate. Reuters reports that political marketing specialists see the track as a way of energising Lula’s progressive base and strengthening his connection with urban, working-class and marginalised communities where funk and rap have deep cultural roots.
Flávio Bolsonaro is taking a different route.
His campaign has released “Vem com Fé” — “Come With Faith” — an AI-generated sertanejo-style anthem built around themes of faith, hope and rural identity. The accompanying campaign material shows Bolsonaro in imagery associated with Brazil’s agricultural heartland, including cowboy styling and traditional cattle-country references.
The contrast mirrors a wider cultural divide in Brazilian politics. Sertanejo has become closely associated with conservative and rural audiences, while funk, samba and other Afro-Brazilian genres have often been embraced by the political left.
Music has long played an unusually important role in Brazilian political campaigns. Lula’s famous “Lula Lá” jingle dates back to his first presidential campaign in 1989 and has resurfaced repeatedly over the decades. Campaign songs have traditionally been distributed through rallies, street advertising and sound trucks, but the 2026 race is increasingly moving that strategy onto Instagram, YouTube and other social platforms.
