{"id":173022,"date":"2026-04-06T13:53:30","date_gmt":"2026-04-06T19:53:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tecscience.tec.mx\/en\/?p=173022"},"modified":"2026-04-10T13:56:39","modified_gmt":"2026-04-10T19:56:39","slug":"tiktok-elections-mexico-2027","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tecscience.tec.mx\/en\/human-social\/tiktok-elections-mexico-2027\/","title":{"rendered":"How TikTok Influences Electoral Campaigns in Mexico Ahead of 2027"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Just over a year remains until Mexico\u2019s 2027 elections, and the electoral atmosphere<\/a> is already being felt\u2014not in public squares or traditional rallies, but on TikTok and other social media platforms. On the phone screen, videos, trends, and interactions are shaping political conversation even before the official process begins.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On TikTok, messages are already circulating that anticipate strategies, potential candidates, and partisan narratives. This is happening ahead of an electoral process in which 17 governorships, 2,478 mayoral races, and hundreds of local and federal legislative seats will be at stake. But what role will this social network play in the election?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

TikTok as a New Space for Political Conversation<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

To examine how political conversation is built on this social network, Fernanda Sobrino<\/a> and Alejandro D\u00edaz Dom\u00ednguez<\/a>, researchers at the School of Government and Public Transformation<\/a> (EGobiernoyTP), conducted a study<\/a> during Mexico\u2019s 2024 federal elections. They analyzed the types of campaigns candidates implemented, the impact of their messages and content, and the level of interaction or engagement with audiences.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe wanted to understand what was happening on TikTok, because we knew different dynamics could be taking place there compared to other platforms, both because of the type of users and the algorithm,\u201d says Sobrino, a research professor specialized in data science and political processes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One of the main differences between this network and others is its user base, made up primarily of people under 30. This segment of the population, although it has shown lower levels of electoral participation, is becoming increasingly relevant in politics as an area of opportunity for upcoming campaigns.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The team sought to understand what was happening with this generation that grew up in digital environments <\/a>and consumes information differently than previous ones. For young people, this platform is not only a space for entertainment; it is also a source of information where they learn about current events of all kinds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What the Study Analyzed During the 2024 Elections<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

As part of the study, the researchers used an automated system that simulates user browsing behavior on TikTok. With this tool, the team collected information from 146 candidacies in 29 state capitals across the country, including Mexico City. Of those, 98 already had an active account on the platform.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhat we did was take all the candidates\u2019 official accounts and several associated hashtags, and from there we conducted a complete sweep of the videos and interactions,\u201d explains the researcher. \u201cThe main technology was a scraper, an automated system that extracts public information from TikTok for analysis.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Using this technique, the team built a database that included more than 7,500 published videos and two million comments generated around that content.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The research analyzed different variables in the videos, such as number of views, likes, comments, and shares, as well as characteristics like duration, type of audio, and whether the content was original or reused. In total, more than 170 variables were evaluated, which made it possible to identify patterns in the way political messages are constructed and spread.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As for the comments, there were around 60 variables. The team analyzed everything from message length, the words used, and emoji usage to user characteristics\u2014such as name, number of followers, and account activity. They also evaluated interaction patterns, such as how frequently users participated, the number of likes, and the timing of their posts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To classify the tone of the conversation, the researchers used RoBERTuito, an artificial intelligence (AI) model trained in Spanish, capable of identifying positive, negative, or neutral comments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n