Lula posts first selfie video in Brazil runoff push

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva recorded and shared his first selfie video on social media on Wednesday as his campaign tries to recover before the October 25 runoff election.

Lula, 80, does not own a cellphone and has long mocked what he calls the “finger-tapping generation.” But he is reshaping his campaign after finishing second behind right-wing senator Flavio Bolsonaro in Sunday's first round.

“People are always bugging me,” Lula said during a meeting with young influencers, referring to his wife Janja urging him to take selfies. “I don't like it. But today, I decided to do it.”

The video was posted on Instagram and TikTok. In it, Lula urged supporters to take to the streets and talk to voters.

His campaign is focusing more heavily on social media, an area often dominated by the right in Brazil. Flavio Bolsonaro has been posting spontaneous selfie videos to followers for months.

Lula also met leftist influencers who won legislative seats on Sunday, including Ana Elisa Santos Silva, who at 21 was elected Brazil's youngest federal deputy. She told reporters that “our most important campaign leaflet is the mobile phone” and said she had worked with the president's communications team to bring him onto social media in a way that suited him.