Brazilian activists have turned a long-running joke about a fictional “Ministry of Dating” into a WhatsApp matchmaking project for left-leaning singles. Called the “Tinder of Lula’s Army,” it directs participants to discussion groups organized by telephone area code, where members can introduce themselves and flirt.
The project was announced on a WhatsApp channel at noon on Tuesday, with its first task to recruit more participants. Administrators post announcements and invitations on the channel, while conversation takes place in separate groups that can hold up to 1,024 people each. Groups for Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo and the Federal District appeared first, followed by cities including Salvador, Belo Horizonte and Porto Alegre. Several filled quickly, and organizers said they were looking for moderators.
Members were told to join the groups and wait until they opened for messages the following morning. More groups were added on Wednesday for Recife, Curitiba, Belém, Fortaleza, Campinas and Ribeirão Preto. The channel said it planned to open at least three groups a day, with followers voting on which area codes should come next through the Instagram account namoro.gov.br.
The newspaper Folha followed activity in the Curitiba group, where many participants used a template to share their name, age, sexual orientation, pronouns, what they were looking for, whether private messages were open and their Instagram profile. Some exchanges also branched into plans for meeting offline, political party activity and a separate group for people over 30.
The channel grew from 5,000 followers in less than four hours to nearly 30,000 the following morning, then reported reaching 40,000. By Sunday, it had more than 58,000 followers and at least 15 groups. The project’s language echoes the “Exército do Lula” channel, a digital campaign hub associated with lawmaker André Janones during the 2022 election. Its calls to action use terms such as “mission” and “explode,” along with recruitment appeals adapted for matchmaking.
The dating-ministry joke predates the WhatsApp groups. The Instagram account, which describes itself as unofficial, has been active since 2023 and has used the idea for posts and fictional promotions. The account later promised that a “Ministry of Dating” would feature in a future Lula government. After the election, the project’s followers also discussed moving the groups to Facebook, framing the suggestion as an expansion into new territory.
Sources: Folha Poder.