Social media and the '20 cents movement' in Brazil: what lessons can be learnt from this?

Abstract

The scope of this article is to describe and analyze the 20 Cents Movement in Brazil that flared up in June 2013, as well as the important role the social network sites played in spreading this unrest nationwide. The Internet and social media context in Brazil is set forth and the brief history of the 20 Cents Movement is unveiled. The dynamics of these uprisings in Brazil is then examined and interpreted in order to understand how important social media were in fomenting this movement. Lastly, lessons learnt and recommendations for policy-makers are outlined such that they can better understand the consequences and unexpected ripple effects arising from the intense use of social network sites in nations marked by major social, economic, political and digital inequalities.