Jones Manoel

Jones Manoel da Silva (born 9 January 1990) is a Brazilian historian, YouTuber, history teacher, communicator, writer, activist, and politician. He is known for his YouTube channel named Jones Manoel. He holds a degree in history from the Federal University of Pernambuco (UFPE) and a master's degree in Social Work from the same university. Since 2024, he has been enrolled in the doctoral program in Social Work at the Federal University of Alagoas (UFAL).

Born and raised in the Borborema favela in Recife, he gained fame on the internet by speaking about Marxism and popular education. At the age of 14, he worked selling newspapers on the street. In 2011, at 21 years old, he began studying history at UFPE and simultaneously started his activism with the Brazilian Communist Party (PCB). He has written for Revista Opera, Blog da Boitempo, the PCB's newspaper O Poder Popular, as well as his own website, for Lavrapalavra, and participates in the Revolushow podcast. He debuted his video column on the CartaCapital channel on August 5, 2020.

During the 2022 elections, he was a candidate for governor of Pernambuco for the PCB, finishing in 6th place in the race with 33,931 votes.

Biography

Early Life (1990–2013) Jones Manoel is the son of Elza Antônia da Silva, a woman who began working at the age of 8 and, at 15, migrated to Recife to work as a domestic servant, and Luis Manoel, who was born and raised in the Borborema favela in Recife. When Jones was 11 years old, his father was murdered in a crime that remains unsolved to this day. He grew up with his mother and his older sister, Juliana.

At the age of 20, through a friend, he encountered Marxism and began gaining access to leftist literature. By 21, he already identified as a communist. His first two experiences with activism were running for president of his community's residents' association—though he had to withdraw due to threats and intimidation—and later, together with his friend Júlio César, establishing a popular course called Novo Caminho ("New Path"). The course ran for two years and helped over 20 young people from Borborema and the surrounding area gain access to public educational institutions. After completing his undergraduate degree, he pursued a master's in Social Work at UFPE, shifting his focus to communication and popular education. He maintained a successful blog for years and later started a YouTube channel in 2017, produced podcasts, and wrote for various media outlets and popular education initiatives. He also worked in the trade union movement and briefly taught at a public military school in Bahia. In July 2021, he faced a racist attack from then-Secretary of Culture Mário Frias on Twitter, which was removed by the platform, and received widespread support from public figures in response. Jones has frequently been accused by both right-wing and left-wing critics of being a Stalinist and of denying or downplaying the crimes of the Soviet Union under Joseph Stalin, although Jones stated that he was not a Stalinist when inquired on the matter.

In December 2021, the PCB announced Jones Manoel as its pre-candidate for Governor of Pernambuco in the 2022 elections. In October 2022, running with vice-governor candidate Raline Almeida, he finished in 6th place, receiving 33,931 votes (0.69% of the electorate). In July 2023, he was expelled from the PCB by the majority of its Central Committee along with four other members. Jones suspected that the deactivation of his profiles was politically motivated, due to his communist activism and criticisms of the Donald Trump administration and big tech companies. The accounts were restored by Meta on August 8, without the company explaining the reasons for its actions.

Neo-Nazi threats On August 21, 2025, two weeks after the incident with Meta, Jones received death threats sent by a Brazilian neo-Nazi organization via email. The threats contained hate speech, racial slurs, the disclosure of personal, financial, and geolocation data, as well as a demand for payment. The YouTuber's legal team was activated and, through a statement, informed that the email was signed by the "Brigada Hitlerista Brasileira (Atomwaffen Brasil)", an international neo-Nazi and terrorist organization founded in 2015. On October 18, 2025, the influencer reported receiving new threats from the same neo-Nazi organization. The message claimed the organization could not be captured by the police due to its alleged influence and threatened to assassinate Jones Manoel if he did not deposit R$250,000 to its members. The communicator received support from the Ministry of Human Rights and Citizenship and maintained his scheduled agenda, while adopting new security measures.

Electoral history YearElectionPartyOfficeCoalitionPartnersPartyVotesPercentResult 2022 State Elections of Pernambuco Governor Raline Almeida 33,931 0.69%

Works