Without education, climate, or hunger: The said and unsaid in Flávio Bolsonaro's campaign ads

"The mouth speaks what the heart is full of," says verse 31, chapter 12, of the biblical book of Matthew. And despite faith having taken center stage in the presidential campaign, the lesson does not seem to have been put into practice by the election propaganda of far-right candidate Flávio Bolsonaro (PL). Education, hunger, housing, mobility, and climate were terms that none of the free TV display guides mentioned throughout his presidential run. Even the word "constitution" was not mentioned by the candidate in 14 free inserts so far.

According to experts interviewed byPublic Agency, so far, Flávio Bolsonaro's speech has focused on evoking emotion in voters through fear and projecting personal strength through self-promotion.

The word "Brazil," for example, is the most used by the ultra-rightist campaign, appearing more than 18 times the frequency of terms like "proposals."Although it is part of his slogan "Brazil will Win," "Brazil" is also used alongside "Brazilians" and "Sovereignty" to create a sense of national belonging, unity, collective identity, and defense of the nation. This is according to Lilian Muneiro, a professor and semantic researcher at the Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte (UFRN).

The responsibility for producing the content of the guides – script, setting, and editing, for instance – lies entirely with the political party.Legislation guarantees airtime on radio and television, both private and public, for the broadcast of the guide or electoral propaganda of candidates for state, federal, and presidential offices, totaling 70 minutes per day, distributed among the station's commercials.

The survey byPublicidentified the most frequently repeated words by Flávio Bolsonaro in his 14 election videos so far. The clips are available on the candidate's YouTube profile and were broadcast nationally from August 28 to October 14. The survey also identified words the candidate did not mention, even though they are global concerns.

For the professor in the Department of Letters at UFRN and researcher in discourse analysis, Cellina Muniz, Flávio Bolsonaro's choice of words should not be seen as a coincidence, as in her field of study, the words we use do not belong solely to us, but carry a history.The narrative construction aims to project an image of himself "historically associated with typically authoritarian regimes. Totalitarian governments, of different ideological positions, have always based themselves on the idolatry of the mythical figure of a 'leader' who tries to assert himself simultaneously as a fighter and as a guardian," she evaluates.

The saying...

The word "fear" appears twice as much as "hope" in Flávio Bolsonaro's election videos. "This discourse tries to move its audience and build its adherence through emotional appeal by creating an 'enemy' to be fought (militias, petism, etc.)", professor Cellina Muniz assesses.

"Brazil has never been so afraid," the candidate said in the program broadcast on September 1, referring to factions groups spread across Brazil."Red Command," "factions," "PCC" (First Capital Command), "narcoterrorist organizations," and "militias" are not the most common terms in the election guide, but they appear twice as often as the words "democracy" and "peace" in the message conveyed to voters.

Despite the appeal to fear, some facts connect the candidate to the universe he criticizes. Still in September, the magazinePiauíHe revealed that in 2023, Senator Flávio submitted a parliamentary amendment to the José Carlos Procópio Professional Training Institute (Ifop), an NGO based in Taquara, a militia stronghold in Rio's West Zone. The request was made by Robson Calixto Fonseca, known as "Peixe," who is imprisoned and convicted for acting as the operational arm of the criminal organization led by the Brazão brothers, the masterminds behind the murder of Marielle Franco. Peixe is suspected of being the link between the Brazão brothers and the militiamen in Jacarepaguá.

In her analysis, semiotics researcher Lilian Muneiro commented that the vocabulary related to security collectively forms an "axis of meaning associated with vulnerability, risk, the need for protection, and the restoration of order."In this collection, it is also possible to observe the passionate dimension of the discourse, he states.

The choices that make up Flávio Bolsonaro's repeated speech also help indicate his narrative priorities. The PL candidate spoke more about picanha (a cut of meat) than God or health during the election campaign. The term "picanha" was repeated seven times, surpassing words like "corruption," "worker," and "school." "Picanha is the symbol of the old, of what is most old in politics, which we no longer tolerate, there is a fundamental difference between the current president and me," the candidate said in the video aired a week before the voting day.

"In the collection of terms and expressions repeated in the candidate's speech, discursive axes are constructed that focus on an idea without depth, an immediate and rushed approach, imbued with a sense of urgency and 'fear', which does not account for or explain the process of building a 'Brazil', as if a continental country could be reduced to simplistic and generic solutions," evaluates a semiotics expert and professor of consumer sciences at the Federal Rural University of Pernambuco (UFRPE), Jaqueline de Melo.

Another frequently used word was "mulher(es)" (women), the fifth most cited. In Flávio Bolsonaro's speech, it is constantly associated with "mães" (mothers), as seen in the first episode of the guide, broadcast on August 29: "When I learned from my mother..."Text: mother"It shaped my perception of how women are. Of how they lead in a different manner. In many ways, much better than men." "Family(ies)" also stood out, being the eighth most cited word.

The recurrence of these terms linked to the feminine connotes a sense of protection, care, and social reproduction, suggesting an appreciation of family ties, said researcher Muneiro. This appreciation does not necessarily mean a harmonious relationship in "real life."

In June of this year, the stepmother of the candidate and elected senator, Michelle Bolsonaro (PL), posted on her social media two videos where she claimed to be “stabbed in the back,” “humiliated,” and “maltreated” by Flávio Bolsonaro. "He said it would be better for me to stay out of party decisions. He said I had arrived yesterday and didn't understand anything about politics. In the face of this humiliation, I told him that everything was fine. I understood that he didn't want my support or that it was insignificant. And then I withdrew," said the former first lady.Video: The text provided is already in English, so no translation is necessary.Which, weeks later, made a new publication indicating reconciliation with the stepson.

...The Unspoken...

A component of the speech that is also a field of study for analysts is silence. "The unsaid also makes sense. Topics that are important to people's daily lives are not present, leading us to understand that they are not priorities."Culture, Amazon, environment, urban mobility, housing, and climate are some of the traditional terms in the democratic debate, but they have not been mentioned so far in Flávio Bolsonaro's election campaign, according to Lilian Muneiro.

According toResearch: The text provided is already in English, so no translation is necessary.According to a survey released by Ipsos in September of this year, health, financial/political corruption, poverty and social inequality, education, climate change, and environmental threats are among the top ten concerns of Brazilians.

The question I ask myself is: what Brazil are they talking about when the words 'thief' and 'bandit' appear more frequently than 'school' and 'worker'? How is it possible to mention the terms 'best', 'change', and 'future' without even referring to a project of 'public education' and 'employment opportunities' and 'generation of income'?The text: "Reflete Jaqueline de Melo." translates to "Reflects Jaqueline de Melo."

In both instances where he mentions his father, Flávio's speech indicates a continuation/reference to his father's government. "[...] it creates more jobs and consumption increases. And the government collects more, taxing less. Without suffocating you. That has already happened with Bolsonaro," he said in the program broadcast on September 3rd.

However, the "struggle" does not solely revolve around tax issues, as the candidate suggests. In his first year in office, Jair BolsonaroblockedR$5.839 billion investment in Brazilian education, which led students to the streets against the freeze. In the environmental context, in 2020, the Legal Amazon had 276 square kilometers of deforestation, a 10% increase compared to December 2019, according to data fromDeforestation Alert SystemThe Bolsonaro administration was also marked by Brazil's return to the Hunger Map in 2021, according to theReport: The document detailing findings, insights, and recommendations based on a specific investigation or study.United Nations and the constant threat to human rights.

Another notable absence was the word "agro." Although he is said to be an ally of the Agribusiness sector and supported by figures in the field, such as Pedro Lupion, the reelected federal deputy and president of the Parliamentary Front for Agriculture (FPA), the presidential candidate made no mention of the topic during the free election campaign.The terms "feminicide" and "racism" also failed to appear in the campaign materials of Jair Bolsonaro's son, 01.

...and the mutant

The electoral propaganda for the second round began on October 9th, and so far, two programs by candidate Flávio have aired: one on October 12th, another on October 14th, and the words they bring maintain the tone of what was said in the first round.

Among the novelties in the electoral propaganda scripts for TV are curious terms, such as "hospital," absent throughout the first round, and mentions of federal government programs like the Popular Pharmacy and Bolsa Família.

This positioning is a clear response to the campaign of the petist adversary, Lula, who prioritizes these same themes and questions the continuation of these investments in a potential Flávio Bolsonaro government.

This strategy becomes evident when one realizes that Nossa Senhora Aparecida,The protagonist of the controversy....was featured.

The Popular Pharmacy is one of the social programs that is a key player in these elections, being used by candidates in different ways. The measure was implemented in 2004 during Lula's first term, who, in these elections, speaks of continuing the proposal. The program has broad approval from the population, according to asurveyreleased this Wednesday (14) by AtlasIntel/Bloomberg, being a success for 89% of respondents.

This program has also been a target of budget cuts during the mandate of Jair Bolsonaro, who in 2022 sent to Congress a proposal that foreseen a 59% reduction in resources for the Popular Pharmacy.In his government plan, Flávio does not mention the social program, but in the program broadcast on October 12th, he states that the Popular Pharmacy "continues, of course."