Characterization of Electoral Propaganda by Candidate Delfina Gómez for the Government of the State of Mexico through the Use and Evaluation of the Meta Ad Library

Abstract

The 2023 gubernatorial election campaign in the State of Mexico, held in mid-2023, emerges as one of the most pivotal events in contemporary Mexican political landscape. This election held particular significance, given that the State of Mexico boasts the largest number of registered voters in the country. Notably, it witnessed a historic milestone as two women contended for the governorship, and it marked a critical juncture for the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI), which had held power in the state for nearly a century. However, this research shifts the focus to an equally crucial dimension: the burgeoning utilization of sociodigital platforms by Mexican candidates to augment their electoral profiles and engage predominantly with younger audiences. Consequently, this study employs a quantitative and qualitative methodology to scrutinize a meticulously curated corpus of electoral advertisements disseminated on Facebook by the candidate and incumbent governor, Delfina Gómez. The overarching aim is to delineate the salient characteristics of these advertisements and discern which categories held the utmost prominence on Facebook. Furthermore, this research undertakes an insightful evaluation of both the capabilities and constraints inherent to Meta’s Ad Library.