• Political debate: Drops in fuel prices and in cooking gas ensured a favorable debate for the government in the economic area. With no reach in the debate, the opposition turned to criticism of public expenses and increase in unemployment;
• Congressional representatives: The impeachment of Deltan Dallagnol was mentioned in the conflict between the legislative and judiciary branches, and Alexandre de Moraes was once again accused of authoritarianism by the opposition;
• Trending on networks: Is romance capable of defeating polarization? Influencer goes viral in a video about dates with “esquerdomachos” (a stereotype attributed to left-wing men) and “hétero tops” (a stereotype associated with men who are not interested in politics). 

Weekly summary:

•  Rising: celebrations of the drop in fuel prices. Fuel prices, the social aid program Bolsa Família, and Dallagnol’s impeachment rose on Facebook compared to the previous week;
•  Declining: Alexandre de Moraes’s image among the opposition to the government. Dallagnol’s trial at the Superior Electoral Court was added to the previous accusations of abuse of power to strengthen the idea of ongoing persecution;
• ⚔️ Disputed: Michelle Bolsonaro’s image for the 2026 election after the potential irregularities in deposits made by Mauro Cid. The persecution narrative was also mobilized; 
•  Open topics:  Comments about the change in the pricing policy of Petrobras outside the government support group. The group was a majority and the terms used stood out in the period.

Political debate on Twitter

Major topics in the weekly political debate on Twitter
Period: May 13 to 18

Source: Twitter | Elaborated by: School of Communication, Media and Information at FGV

• The positive highlight to the change in the pricing policy of Petrobras was favorable to the government. To a lesser extent, the left-wing had a negative view of the new tax framework, and the right-wing mentioned public expenses and unemployment rates in the first semester of 2023.
• In turn, the impeachment of Deltan Dallagnol divided the political fields. The persecution allegations stood out among the opposition, and critics of Operation Car Wash reinforced the favorable votes of judges indicated by Bolsonaro. The case strengthened the opposition’s rejection of Alexandre de Moraes.
• The idea there is an ongoing persecution of the opposition by the judiciary branch, the media and the federal government was also strongly mentioned in the case involving Michelle Bolsonaro. The alleged irregularities in deposits made by Mauro Cid to the former first lady were rebuked by the opposition as attempts to harm her image for the 2026 presidential race.

Congressional debate on Facebook

Posts made by congressional representatives with the most interactions on Facebook
Period: May 13 to 18

Source: Facebook | Elaborated by: School of Communication, Media and Information at FGV

• The impeachment of Deltan Dallagnol was a recurring topic. The congressman’s page drove the topic, and congressional representatives such as Marcel van Hattem, Gustavo Gayer and Delegado Palumbo emphasized the strong criticism against the judiciary branch.
• The impeachment, the drop in fuel prices, and statistics for the social aid program Bolsa Família were positive highlights for the government’s congressional representation. Left-wing representatives made 9 of 50 top publications. In the previous week, the same statistic was only 3 posts.

Trending on networks

A comical video made by progressive influencer Ellora Haonne mobilized different political fields. In the publication, which obtained more than 26 million views on Twitter and 116 thousand views on TikTok, Ellore criticized the so called “esquerdo macho”, a stereotype attributed to left-wing men, and compared it to the “hétero top”, a stereotype associated with men who are not interested in politics.

Source: Twitter and TikTok | Elaborated by: School of Communication, Media and Information at FGV

• The video was mobilized by the right as a way to negatively reinforce a stereotype about people aligned with the left, such as in publications made by Terra Brasil Notícias and MPS – Movimento Sem Picanha;
  In the comments, users suggested that left-wing men are not virile, masculine or “alpha males” compared to right-wing men, pejoratively associating them with “feminine” characteristics and the LGBTQIA+ movement;
• There were also attacks against left-wing and feminist women, with a high level of sexualization and subjugation. For instance, there were claims that left-wing women are “bitter” and “perturbed”, and that they need “real sex” with an “alpha male”;
• In profiles of women aligned with the left, users endorsed the influencer’s message, with criticism of “esquerdomachos” and requests for partners who are not in any of the extremes. There were also frequent accusations that the influencer plagiarized the idea of another content creator.