Less than three months ahead of the Brazilian presidential election, Anitta, the most recognized pop singer in the country formally declared her support of the left-wing candidate and former president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
Her support for the candidate came after a leftist official supporting da Silva, the Workers’ Party candidate who is often called Lula, was brutally murdered at his personal celebration by a Bolsonaro supporter within the state of Paraná.
“If there had been no murder involved … I’d say that the stupidity of these people is almost funny. But it’s not. It’s frightening,” Anitta tweeted, referencing Bolsonaro supporters.
“I’m not a Worker’s Party supporter, and I have never been one,” she added in a separate tweet. “But, this year, I’m with Lula, and whoever wants my help to make him blow up on the Internet, on Tik Tok, on Twitter, on Instagram, just ask me. If what you are asking is not against electoral law, I will do it.”
Anitta has over 100 million followers on her social media platforms (together with 63 million on Instagram), and her recent tweets reached over 32,000 retweets and more than 347,000 likes.
Anitta has been a critic of Bolsonaro’s politics on her social media accounts. Her open campaigning for Bolsonaro’s strongest opponent is new, and it has stirred reactions from both sides of the political divide in what is considered the most polarized presidential race in the nation in many years.
Bolsonaro supporters created the hashtag #AnittaApoiaOCrime (“Anitta supports crime”) to criticize the singer’s pro-Lula position, which they argue would make her responsible for supporting a corrupt candidate.
Lula da Silva was convicted in 2017 for cash laundering and corruption. He was sentenced to nine-and-a-half years in jail and ended up spending 580 days in jail.
