Experts Identify Media Influence, Social Division, and Pandemic Impact Behind Decline in Youth Political Engagement in Brazil
Brazil is witnessing a sharp decline in youth political engagement due to media influence, social fragmentation, and pandemic repercussions, experts reveal.
- • Youth membership in political parties in Brazil has dropped from 415,000 in 2014 to about 180,000 in 2024.
- • Professor José Geraldo attributes youth political disengagement to alienation influenced by media, technology, and pandemic habits.
- • Political scientist Marco Aurélio Nogueira highlights social media's role in fragmenting society and diminishing political discourse.
- • A 2025 survey shows high Brazilians’ distrust towards legislative power (82%) and the federal government (52%).
Key details
Youth involvement in Brazilian politics has reached a decade-low, marked by a significant drop in political party membership among young people aged 16 to 24. According to data from the Tribunal Superior Eleitoral (TSE), this number decreased from 415,000 in 2014 to approximately 180,000 in 2024. Jurist and professor José Geraldo de Sousa attributes this decline to constraining conditions and symbolic processes, emphasizing that youth disinterest is shaped not only by contemporary challenges but also external factors such as media influence and pandemic-related habits.
Souza explained that digital media and technology have paradoxically discouraged political mobilization by fostering a sense of alienation and eroding traditional utopian visions of activism. The COVID-19 pandemic further entrenched these trends by limiting public interactions during health restrictions, forming new habits that reduce youth participation in politics.
Political scientist Marco Aurélio Nogueira from Unesp supplements this analysis by highlighting a broader political disqualification and disorganization that have permeated Brazilian society. Nogueira points to the shift toward social media as a political platform which has distanced politicians from direct grassroots engagement, fragmented society, and diminished the quality of political discourse. A 2025 AtlasIntel survey underlines this distrust, with 82% of Brazilians skeptical of the Legislative power and 52% lacking confidence in the federal government.
The surge in campaign spending on social media—R$ 170 million in the 2024 municipal elections, a 57% increase from 2020—reflects politics’ increasing reliance on digital platforms, which experts argue contributes to societal paralysis and hinders broad-based communication.
These expert insights paint a picture of a younger generation increasingly alienated from traditional political structures, influenced by media trends and pandemic-era social changes, amidst a politically fragmented and distrustful national environment gearing up for a critical presidential election.
This article was synthesized and translated from native language sources to provide English-speaking readers with local perspectives.