  A discussion is given of the conformal Einstein field equations coupled with
matter whose energy-momentum tensor is trace-free. These resulting equations
are expressed in terms of a generic Weyl connection. The article shows how in
the presence of matter it is possible to construct a conformal gauge which
allows to know \emph{a priori} the location of the conformal boundary. In
vacuum this gauge reduces to the so-called conformal Gaussian gauge. These
ideas are applied to obtain: (i) a new proof of the stability of
Einstein-Maxwell de Sitter-like spacetimes; (ii) a proof of the semi-global
stability of purely radiative Einstein-Maxwell spacetimes.
