Brazilian Presidential Candidate Uses Blockchain to Publish Government Plan

                <p>Brazilian presidential candidate Fernando Haddad has announced his campaign will use blockchain technology to distribute his policy positions and plans for the government.</p>
                <p><p>Fernando Haddad, the presidential candidate for the Brazil Workers&rsquo; Party, has published his government plan via blockchain, per an announcement published on his website Oct. 14.</p><p>According to the release, Haddad decided to use blockchain technology for disseminating information about his presidential campaign after a long-term struggle with fake news reports. As information stored on a blockchain cannot be altered or compromised, he decided to store the data on a decentralized platform.</p><p>The release also notes that Haddad used &ldquo;free software&rdquo; in Sao Paulo where he served as mayor from 2013&ndash;2017. The software solutions monitored various city projects, including the municipal Master Plan &ldquo;with the support of users through the internet.&rdquo;</p><p>Haddad is not the only presidential candidate to apply the technology. According to crypto news outlet Criptomoedas Facil, other politicians that participated in the general election; Joao Amoedo and Marina Silva, also mentioned blockchain during their campaigns.</p><p>Silva proposed to create a &ldquo;digital government,&rdquo; storing all public data on a decentralized platform, while Marina used decentralized ledger technology (DLT) to register donations for her campaign.</p><p>In the first round of the 2018 elections, Haddad and his vice-presidential running mate Manuela d&rsquo;Avila won almost 30 percent of the overall vote, but eventually lost out to far-right candidate Jair Bolsonaro.</p><p>Bolsonaro, who has previously expressed fond sentiments for Brazil&rsquo;s former military regime, exceeded expectations at the polls, having ran a right-wing populist platform that promised a return to &ldquo;traditional&rdquo; Brazilian values. &nbsp;</p><p>While he won the general election with almost 47 percent of the overall vote, Bolsonaro fell short of the 50 percent needed to avoid a runoff election against Haddad on Oct. 28.</p><p>As Cointelegraph reported in January, the Brazilian government was considering to move popular petitions &mdash; an instrument that allows citizens to vote on different social matters &mdash; to a blockchain based on the Ethereum network. Officials wanted to create a mobile app that would allow people to submit their votes via a decentralized platform.</p>