Boulos Dominates Lula Cabinet's Social Media With 70 Million Interactions

Guilherme Boulos alone generated 70 million social media interactions — 69.2% of the 102 million total that consultancy Bites counted across ten of Lula's 37 ministers, according to an unprecedented survey first reported by columnist Lauro Jardim.

The study gives Brazil's government a hard number for what digital performance looks like after Lula's own conversion to social media. The president got his first mobile phone during the second-round runoff of the election, when he immersed himself in the networks, and digital activity has since gained even more weight for members of his administration.

Bites analyzed 3,065 posts by Boulos, who heads the Secretaria-Geral da Presidência. That volume — more posts than any other minister in the ranking — combined with the highest engagement rate in the cabinet sample.

Who follows Boulos in the ranking?

Alexandre Padilha, the health minister, ranks second with 16.3 million interactions across 860 posts. Culture minister Margareth Menezes takes third place with 2.4 million interactions on 502 posts.

The remaining seven ministers in the survey, with their interaction and post counts:

• Fernanda Machiaveli (Development, Family Agriculture and Agrarian Development) — 2.3 million interactions on 304 posts
• José Guimarães (Institutional Relations) — 1.8 million interactions on 1,276 posts
• Waldez Góes (Integration and Regional Development) — 1.2 million interactions on 793 posts
• Luiz Marinho (Labour and Employment) — 854,400 interactions on 669 posts
• Luciana Santos (Science, Technology and Innovation) — 752,500 interactions on 1,184 posts
• Alexandre Silveira (Mines and Energy) — 719,900 interactions on 889 posts
• Paulo Henrique Pereira (Entrepreneurship, Microenterprise and Small Business) — 718,500 interactions on 290 posts

What the numbers show?

The gap between first and second place is stark. Boulos drew more than four times Padilha's interactions, and Padilha drew nearly seven times Menezes. For marketers tracking political influence, the survey turns cabinet communication into a measurable media asset.

Post volume does not explain the ranking. Guimarães published 1,276 posts and Luciana Santos 1,184 — both among the most prolific — yet each landed under 2 million interactions. Pereira, by contrast, reached 718,500 interactions on just 290 posts, the smallest output in the sample.

The survey covers ten of the administration's 37 ministers, so the 102 million figure understates the government's total digital footprint. How the remaining ministers perform, and whether Boulos can hold a lead built on outsized output, will test whether cabinet-level engagement is sustainable or a launch-phase spike.