Um estudo semiótico dos memes usados como estratégia de campanha política na eleição municipal de Cuiabá em 2020

Abstract

The present work aims to analyze the meme as an electoral campaign instrument, with an emphasis on the meanings produced by the memes that circulated on the digital social networks of Emanuel Pinheiro (MDB) and Abílio Brunini Júnior (PSC) during the electoral race for mayor of Cuiabá, in 2020, during the Covid-19 pandemic. We start with the following research question: what meanings did the social media memes of candidates Emanuel Pinheiro and Abílio Brunini Júnior provoke in their voters during the electoral race? To answer the research question, we collected all the memes published on the Instagram and Twitter social networks of Brunini and Pinheiro, in the period from November 16th (first day of the second round) to November 27th (eve of the second electoral round) to carry out the analysis. 15 memes that make up the research corpus were identified: eight posted by Brunini, and seven by Pinheiro, which shows a balance of posts. To analyze the corpus, we classified memes by type, following the proposal of CHAGAS et al (2017), one of the main Brazilian scholars on the topic of memes. We then studied the memes based on a semiotic analysis to identify and discuss the meanings present in each meme conveyed by the candidates. The results of the analysis show that Abílio Brunini used the topic of corruption as a strategic weapon to deconstruct his opponent. On the other hand, Emanuel Pinheiro sought to build the image of a good manager, since he had accusations involving corruption against him.