On the eve of the election year, the government () increased the money allocated to publicizing slogans and programs of the PT administration, such as “Sovereign Brazil” and . Described in the budget as institutional communication, this type of budget now occupies 57% of the federal advertising budget.
The remaining 43% pays for so-called public utility actions, which include everything from vaccination campaigns by the Ministry of Health and the dissemination of FGTS (Service Time Guarantee Fund) rules.
The percentages mark a change in the distribution of the communication budget, which allocated 70% of resources to public benefit campaigns in 2015. In Jair Bolsonaro’s (PL) last year as President, in 2022, the other slice, which prioritizes government propaganda, reached 50.6% of resources, the peak in the previous administration.
The Lula administration maintained an almost equal division between the two actions. During the year 2025, however, the government (Secretariat of Social Communication) of the Presidency in more than R$ 116 million and consolidated the advance of the budget for publicizing the government’s flags.
The survey considered amounts reserved for the government’s two social communication actions, which total R$1.54 billion. Of this amount, public utility advertising has R$661.6 million distributed among several ministries, including a small portion in Secom.
The budgetary action for institutional communication, which only pays for advertisements for the Presidency secretariat, reaches R$876.8 million.
In a note, Secom denies political use of federal advertising. The ministry says that the sole objective is to “guarantee the beneficiary population’s access to information related to these services and deliveries” through institutional communication.
The new scenario coincides with the arrival of the secretary. Secom started to direct more resources to internet advertising, in addition to .
The ministry also plans to spend another R$100 million per year on a new digital communications contract. The agencies’ bidding documents, which are in the final phase, show that the government wants to produce around 3,000 videos per year for social networks, with just the 576 videos “with presenter” expected to cost R$12.3 million per year.
The new contract must also include the creation of podcasts and videocasts, among other products. In the dispute, the agencies had to present a proposal for a “creative and effective communication strategy” to increase the engagement and reach of government messages on the networks on topics such as Pé-de-Meia, Bolsa Família and Minha Casa, Minha Vida.
A publication made at the end of September on the “gov.br” networks illustrates the new tone adopted by the government in advertisements. In the video, presenter João Kléber takes his “loyalty test” — a scenario that aimed to provoke and “catch” potential adulterers — to the dispute between the Lula and Donald Trump governments.
The plan to boost communication is still spreading across the Esplanada. The Ministry of Finance is seeking an investment of R$120 million to hire press consultancy services, in addition to advertising and communication on the networks.
The department headed by Haddad does not currently have its own advertising structure. In the request for the funds, the Treasury states that it wishes to publicize its actions, “including tax reform, the Ecological Transformation Plan and fixed quota bets”.
The current communication strategy contrasts with the guidance of Paulo Pimenta (PT), who left Secom in January. He invested in radios to reach the poorest population far from the capitals.
Sidônio also appointed Mariah Queiroz to the Secretariat of Strategies and Networks. She worked in communications for the mayor of Recife, João Campos (PSB), one of the politicians in .
In a note, Secom states that public utility actions “must have an educational character” to mobilize or alert the population to adopt behaviors that improve their quality of life, “such as vaccination campaigns”.
Institutional communication actions have a broader scope, according to the ministry. “They include, for example, actions to disseminate public policies, citizens’ rights and services made available to them; campaigns to encourage society’s participation in the debate on the formulation of public policies and dissemination of information on matters of public interest, among others.”
Secom also said that institutional communication actions aim to provide transparency for the Executive Branch’s deliveries. “Therefore, they have a clear accountability nature to society, having no relationship with the electoral period.”
