Ronaldo Caiado’s presidential launch will double as a test site for digital campaign tools, according to single-source reporting from Folha de S.Paulo. The Social Democratic Party (PSD), a major Brazilian political party, plans to use its Sunday, July 26 convention in São Paulo as what Folha described as a laboratory for the campaign’s online strategy.
The event is expected to confirm Caiado, the former governor of Goiás, as the PSD’s candidate for the Planalto Palace, the seat of Brazil’s executive branch. Gilberto Kassab, the PSD president, is set to be named his running mate, according to the report.
Digital Activation
Participants at the convention will be able to access campaign material through QR codes placed around the venue. The platform will offer personalized photos with Caiado, avatars and stickers designed for sharing on social media and messaging apps.
The most visible feature will be an artificial-intelligence version of Caiado that interacts with the public through an activation platform. The campaign’s stated objective, as reported by Folha, is to turn attendees into content multipliers for the candidate.
That approach reflects a broader shift in Brazilian electoral politics, where messaging apps and short-form social platforms can shape campaign visibility as much as formal advertising. The Folha report did not specify which technology provider will run the AI tool, how the interaction will be moderated, or whether the campaign will label generated material for voters outside the event.
Electoral Positioning
Caiado is trying to present himself as the center-right candidate best placed to defeat President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in a runoff, according to Folha. The argument reported by the newspaper is that Caiado does not carry the same rejection rate attributed to Flávio Bolsonaro of the Liberal Party (PL), the right-wing party associated with the Bolsonaro family.
That positioning matters because Brazil’s presidential election uses a two-round system. If no candidate wins an outright majority in the first round, the top two finishers face each other in a runoff, making rejection rates central to campaign strategy.
The PSD convention will therefore serve two purposes. Formally, it will launch Caiado’s bid and confirm Kassab on the ticket. Politically, it will test whether a digitally organized event can convert party activists and invited supporters into a distributed online network before the national race enters its most intense phase.
The available source does not provide polling data, attendance estimates or details about the convention’s budget. It also does not include a response from rival campaigns to Caiado’s positioning.