Social media and Political Debates: the case of the State of Mexico election Social Media & Political Debates: the case of Mexico 2023

The influence of social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, X, and TikTok on voters' opinions has been extensively examined by other researchers. While some studies have focused on voting intentions and candidates' perceptions, there have been few investigations into political debates during political campaigns. This study aims to present evidence of the perceived changes in voters' behavior using X during the local campaign in the central State of Mexico, the most populous state in the country. We closely followed the 2023 gubernatorial campaign between Alejandra Del Moral (PRI-PAN-PRD) and Delfina Gomez (MORENA) and measured the impact on the political debate. By utilizing the Netlytic tool, we conducted a graphical analysis of the formation of content nodes and the behavior of political influencers. Our findings reveal two key points: there were no significant changes in the preferences reported by the followers of each candidate, but the debate did influence the number of interactions among the candidates' followers. We hope that our research will contribute to the field of social media analysis in the context of political debates.