Estrutura de mobilização midiática : A cobertura de Veja durante o ciclo de protestos do Impeachment (2014-2016)

Abstract

The central goal of this project is to understand what role the media can play qhen it comes to building protest cycles (TARROW, 2011). The idea behind this research is to identify if and how mainstream media (co)produced the Impeachment Cycle in Brazil – held between 2014 and 2016 to claim President Dilma Rousseff´s impeachment. Based on the understanding that the media as a whole is a system of power capable of exerting social control (GANS, 1979), the hypothesis was build upon the idea that, at the time, media outlets took on part of the role generally performed by other organizations to mobilize right-wing protests. Veja magazine was chosen as a representation of Brazilian mainstream media and 67 issues were scrutinized using the Content Analysis technique (BARDIN, 2004), combining quantitative and qualitative approaches to systematize and decode the data. The results indicate that Veja strengthen the master frame (SNOW and BENFORD, 1992) that placed corruption as the central problem in Brazil at that time and, from it, became an important actor when it came to mobilize the events now known as ”Fora, Dilma!" [Dilma Out!]. Through an alignment process (SNOW and BENFORD, 1986), Veja assigned the responsibility for corruption to the Workers Party (PT). Thus, the suggestion of collective action as a way to pressure the government came naturally. Veja also promoted a frame extension by presenting the impeachment as the best alternative to solve the problem. This process enabled the recovery of Brazilian rightwing identity, strengthened by the appropriation of the anti-corruption narrative. Therefore, the dissertation offers a complementary view to the Contentious Politics (TILLY and TARROW, 2007) approach, showing that mainstream media can actually play a central role in mobilization processes – both consensus and action mobilization (KLANDERMANS, 1988) – through what we call Media Mobilizing Structure (MMS). Also advances on the protest paradigm idea by showing that the media attitude toward protests is not negative by itself, but it is negative toward protests that dare to challenge the authority and legitimacy of a political and ideological agenda that underpins the country's economic elite.