Incubation of the far right: the PSL funding network in the 2018 elections.

ABSTRACT

Introduction:

The article analyzes the income network of the Social Liberal Party (PSL) electoral campaigns in 2018. Considering the outstanding success of this party in that electoral process, selecting as an object of study the campaigns of the party that won the major position in the federal executive is justified.

Materials and methods:

We mobilized the Social Networks Analysis to analyze the data provided by candidates and party bodies linked to the PSL to the Superior Electoral Court and, in doing so, we map the complex network of relationships established among the agents mobilized in that year’s campaign. This method allows the identification of central actors within the network, and groups formed therein.

Results:

The empirical result of the research identifies significant rates of electoral success in situations of lower financial volume, corroborating the interpretation of the prominent role that ideological aspects played in the 2018 elections; in addition to identifying the detachment of the presidential campaign in relation to party bodies.

Discussions:

It was possible to problematize the conditions of electoral success in such an exceptional political situation, as well as to visualize characteristics of the far right in this situation.

Keywords
Bolsonaro; far right; parties; campaign financing; social networks