MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Obama’s internet-electoral-strategist contracted by Brazil’s ruling party

Blue State Digital Ben Self is confident internet can revolutionize campaigning in Brazil

The man who ran Barack Obama's game-changing Internet strategy US presidential campaign believes similar methods can transform Brazilian politics and help elect its first woman president, reports Reuters.

Ben Self's Blue State Digital firm has been hired to advise on an Internet strategy for the possible campaign of Dilma Rousseff, who is likely to run as the ruling Workers' Party candidate in Brazil's October 2010 election.

Rousseff who has been hand picked by President Lula da Silva is a third distant in the latest public opinion polls on presidential hopefuls, in spite of the sustained record support for the charismatic Brazilian leader.

As head of digital campaigning for Obama, Self was instrumental in creating the vast online supporter base that helped drive him to the White House and raise a record 500 million USD in online campaign donations for the Democrat.

“Political engagement at this level in the United States is a new thing as well,” he told Reuters in a telephone interview from Washington. “There's no reason that this kind of political engagement can't be applied to other countries.”

Self, who visited the capital Brasilia to meet Rousseff this month, said his firm was working with a local partner to help the incumbent Workers' Party plan the campaign, and might take a bigger role once the campaign officially starts.

Self said he believed the Internet was currently underused as a campaign tool in Brazil and could be harnessed effectively to help her campaign.

His involvement comes as the use of the Internet in political campaigns becomes a subject of national debate and the Brazilian Congress considers changes to election laws that could restrict its use.

Lula da Silva who must sign any bill, has come out strongly in favor of unfettered use of the Internet during campaigns.