Introduction:
In this essay i will analyse the role of social media in advancing political and social change in Latin American countries such as Mexico, Argentina and Brazil and in China. I will look deeper into how the government uses social media for the benefit of their campaigns through social networks and how it supports the engagement of citizen’s political life.
Social media is continuously growing and together comes the increase in social media platforms allowing users to communicate easily through the internet. The constant use of social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube had some people believing that media can now shape opinions, perception and actions. Therefore these platforms are providing ways that stimulates people’s engagement in political life as they these become a forum for political activism where elections and campaigns take place. It allows governors and politicians to get closer to their voters and advertise themselves or parties.
Social media has the potential of communicating much faster as it has been effectively developed, this means that politicians can get their messages across citizens much faster and efficiently.
The impact in Latin America:
Latin America is one of the fastest growing in the social media ranking. It has around 320 million internet users (more than the United States) and 95% of internet users in are using social media.
The impact that social media has in Latin America is huge. Being known for media manipulation by governments and monopolistic networks supplying the news; social media has opened a unique window to the average citizen. Social media platforms have become critical in shaping the political landscape in this region. They are a source for political news, critical information, public shaming of government officials, finding like-minded issue-oriented people and a tool for voter outreach during elections.
Latin America is a perfect example of the social activism movement online. Social media has helped coordinate demonstrations and maintain momentum for some of these social campaigns; showing that significant portions of the population in Latin America are using new technologies and proving a high degree of self-organization and empowerment.
These campaigns from citizens on social media have not gone unnoticed by governments and politicians in Latin America. It has changed the dynamic on how politicians communicate with its citizens, how they run their campaigns and how their government operates. The high intensity of these social media campaigns reaches more than those who are directly affected, and forces other audiences to listen and learn about the issues. Social media has also become one of the main sources of information for media networks, as they constantly discuss during the evening news about posts on Twitter by citizens or government officials and follow developing stories on Facebook.
This influence spreads to the Latin American governments, as they are becoming more professional in their use of social media by creating complete teams that manage their social media communications. President of Mexico Enrique Pena Nieto, is the Latin American president with the most followers on Twitter (4.3 million), followed by Colombian president Juan Manuel Santos (4 million), Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff (4 million), Argentinean President Cristina Fernandez (3.9 million) and Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro (2.5 million). President Obama has 63 million followers to put things in perspective.
Presidents are not the only government officials who are using social media. Mexico made political history with the victory (with 49% of the votes) of the first independent candidate for governor of the state Nuevo Leon. The independent candidate Jaime Rodriguez also known as “El Bronco”, made social media the foundation of his campaign with the slogan “Adiós a los partidos” (“Goodbye to the parties”). Rodriguez used Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and other platforms to get his message across, he even answered Whatsapp messages from constituents and announced meetings on Facebook.
Rodriguez declared his alliance to online platforms over traditional media, saying that “you don’t need television anymore”. He also spends two to three hours a day answering constituents on social media.
The way this independent candidate won, set a trend for other politicians on how to manage their campaigns and messages. Two other independent candidates went on to win their elections using social media as their main communication tool; Pedro Kumamoto and Manuel Clouthier
Social media has created many opportunities for businesses, governments and citizens all of over Latin America. Brazil is the main force driving this social media revolution and creating business opportunities.
Companies need to consider the cultural differences and regional influences when creating their social media Latin America-target strategy, depending on the product or services they should also consider that close to 70% of the total population and 75% of Internet users in Latin America reside in four countries: Brazil, Mexico, Argentina and Colombia. In order to better serve their citizens, it is crucial that Latin American governments promote technological advances and create the proper regulatory environment. This is critical for the region to reach its full potential. Citizens will continue to use these social platforms to gather around important issues and organize change around social and political issues.
As the middle class keeps growing, governments need to continue promoting the use of technological resources. This presents important opportunities for making governments more responsive to the needs of the people they serve, by allowing citizens to connect, share opinions freely and advancing in-country and regional business opportunities.