According to Brazilian law, everyone above the age of 16 can register to vote. However, this measure is only mandatory for people above 18 and below 70 years of age. Adolescents -- who, in a country with 200 million people, represent 3.5% of the women and 3.63% of the men -- are free to choose whether they want to vote or not. This chunk of the population holds an undeniable importance in the future of the largest country in Latin America, seeing as they will inherit its democracy.
However, in the beginning of 2022, according to the 'Tribunal Superior Eleitoral,' the level of participation of this population was the smallest it had been in 30 years. So, as one of the most tense elections in recent years approaches in October of 2022 most likely a tight race between the current alt-right president Jair Bolsonaro and the center-leftist ex-president Luís Inácio da Silva "Lula" -- many projects have been created to incentivize this age group to register as voters. And one that has amassed some special attention is the 'ARMY Tira o Título' (ARMY Get Your Registry), from the fanbase Army Help The Planet (@ARMY_HTP), that started in March and ended on May 4th, the last day of registration.
The campaign, inspired by the political awareness present in BTS' career, consisted of a work of raising awareness both through social media and through in-person projects. The hashtag #TiraOTítuloArmy entered the country's Twitter trending topics more than once. The group's lyrics were projected on the sides of buildings in seven of the biggest capitals in the country, such as São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Salvador, and Brasília, with the help from Projetemos, a national network of free projectionists (@projetemos). Quotes from songs like Tomorrow ("Keep walking, we're still too young to stop"), Am I Wrong ("If you see the news and don't feel anything, you're not normal") and Dope ("The media and adults say sell us out like stocks, saying that we are weak-minded. Why do you already hang your head?") were displayed on April 8th and April 22nd. On the second date, an event also took place in São Paulo, where ARMYs received stickers, temporary tattoos, and other gifts from the team of volunteers.
The response to this effort was very positive. As already mentioned, the hashtag amassed thousands of tweets and the events were covered by many important Brazilian news vehicles, such as Uol, Estadão, and more. Regarding the registration effort as a whole, many celebrities -- both national and international -- and governmental institutions had their own campaigns to incentivize young people to vote.
The result was a resounding success: every record set by the Electoral Justice was surpassed. According to the TSE´s president Edson Fachin, between January and April, more than 2 million new voters were registered, a 42.2% increase from the last election year, 2018. And when comparing the months of March and April -- when the campaigns were the strongest -- there was an 89.7% increase in registration: from 500 thousand to 900 thousand.
This case goes to show how strong and positive BTS´ influence can be. Young people take their message of strength and love to heart and effectively apply it in their development as citizens and participating members of society. And so, the social ideas present both in the group´s music, performances, and actions as artists transcends the purely theoretical level and is materialized in reality through ARMY, their organizations, and their positive impact on the world.
The Fanbase
Army Help The Planet is a Brazilian BTS fanbase, created in 2019, that acts as an NGO (Non-governmental organization) and focuses on voluntary work and philanthropic donations. The group of more than 50 volunteers with ages ranging from 17 to 45 around Brazil has already done many successful campaigns covering a plethora of social issues. For example, in 2021, a project to help the Pantanal -- a threatened biome in the country -- gathered R$50.000 in donations, winning a prize from the crowdfunding platform Benfeitoria in the environmental category. Another relevant project done in the same year was 'ARMY against Hunger', which was a partnership with the government health institute Fiocruz (Oswaldo Cruz Foundation) to donate basic food parcels to the homeless population, amassing R$60.000 in the campaign.
Lyric translations by doolset
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Written By: Carolina Rocha
Edited By: Aury
Checked By: Shelley
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