The federal government has adopted a new slogan: “On the side of the Brazilian people.” At first glance, it seems harmless, even redundant. After all, any government, by definition, should be on the side of the people. However, redundancy is a strategy, not a carelessness. By declaring itself to be “on the side of the people,” the government, by contrast, places its opponents on the “other side” of the people. This purported administrative motto actually shifts government communication from an information field to a compliance field typical of election campaigns.
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This is not easy. This slogan appears as a signature in all government communications and is imposed on ministries, local governments, foundations and state-owned enterprises. It can also serve as a creative motto for organized campaigns, reinforcing your message. And it’s not limited to paid advertising. It is present in speeches, official documents and social networks. In short, it pervades and conditions everything that is transmitted. And it is done using public resources.
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Adopting campaign codes for slogans reveals a deeper problem: government communications being used as vehicles for political debate. This is not unique to Lula’s government, but what we are seeing now is an alarming escalation.
Mature democracies are already facing this dilemma and have rules banning any trace of electoral conflict in public communications. They went further and banned the use of public resources for messages of self-congratulation or self-promotion. The determination of values should be left to society, never to the government itself.
In Brazil, general rules exist and have constitutional status. That is, official advertising must be educational, informative, or socially oriented in nature, without containing personal promotion. You can argue about improving norms under the Constitution, but that’s not the real issue. It’s structural and it’s political.
Secom, which handles government communications, is under the direction of the person responsible for Mr. Lula’s previous election campaign and has no public carrier or full-time technical staff. All positions are freely appointed and can be replaced at any time. This arrangement allows communication to be shaped entirely by the political group at hand, without institutional brakes or technical memory.
Scale also matters. Secom manages contracts worth more than R$600 million annually in advertising, institutional communications, content production, research and, in the near future, digital services. Added to this are certain employments such as events. This is a substantial amount that exceeds the investment budgets of several ministries and agencies, and it has substantial power to influence the formation of public opinion.
In addition to its strengths, SECOM is also, by law, the central communication body of the executive branch. We coordinate and integrate advertising as well as sponsorship. Establish guidelines for the entire federal structure. Define the “single voice” of government. It also exerts influence over the EBC, which controls radio, television and news agencies.
There is no question about the importance of SECOM and the amount of resources it manages. Communication is a vital part of government and has become even more strategic in the digital age. It is no coincidence that the UK recognizes this as one of the four main instruments of state action, alongside law, regulation and taxation. But it is precisely because of this connection that the requirements of impersonality and public purpose need to be even more stringent.
The new slogan “Standing with the Brazilian people” is the visible surface of a deeper distortion. Government communications must exist solely to inform and guide the public, not to praise mandates or anticipate campaigns. Elections must be born out of public debate between political parties and the press. In government, you can’t start it, and even if you start it, you can’t continue it.
*João Paulo Silveira is an auditor.
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