Political communication in Uruguay: Jose Mujica, the media and the journalism

This article explores the political communication of José Mujica during his presidency (2010-2015) in Uruguay and seeks to answer why, contrary to what happened with the others governments of the “Left-turn” in South America, he managed to participate in the mainstream national media in ways that he...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autor: Schuliaquer, Iván
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Estado:Versión publicada
Fecha de publicación:2022
País:Uruguay
Institución:Universidad ORT Uruguay
Repositorio:RAD
Idioma:español
OAI Identifier:oai:rad.ort.edu.uy:20.500.11968/4584
Acceso en línea:https://revistas.ort.edu.uy/inmediaciones-de-la-comunicacion/article/view/3228
https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11968/4584
http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11968/4584
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Political communication
José Mujica
Media
Journalism
Uruguay
comunicación política
medios
periodismo
comunicação política
mídia
jornalismo
Uruguai
Descripción
Sumario:This article explores the political communication of José Mujica during his presidency (2010-2015) in Uruguay and seeks to answer why, contrary to what happened with the others governments of the “Left-turn” in South America, he managed to participate in the mainstream national media in ways that he found beneficial. The work, which arises from an extensive investigation that includes interviews with 32 key actors of the relationship between media and politics in Uruguay, indicates that two main issues converged for this. First of all, the configuration of the Uruguayan media system. Both because of the strong relative weight of the State regarding media companies and because of the “journalism of declaration”, which considers that its main task is to obtain the statements of the actors of institutional and party politics. This allows the president to define several conditions of his media appearances. Secondly, Mujica’s artisanal handling of political communication, characterized by his direct and atypical style and his audience success, but also by a prior relationship of trust with four political journalists who worked in conservative media. It was a relationship of mutual convenience that allowed the president to reach an audience that he considered strategic and that allowed journalists to get scoops and distinguish themselves within their field.