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The Media in the Core of Political Conflict Venezuela During the Last Years of Hugo Chávez's Presidency

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The Media in the Core of Political Conflict Venezuela During the Last Years of Hugo Chávez's Presidency Department of Social Research University of Helsinki Helsinki THE MEDIA IN THE CORE OF POLITICAL CONFLICT VENEZUELA DURING THE LAST YEARS OF HUGO CHÁVEZ’S PRESIDENCY Virpi Salojärvi ACADEMIC DISSERTATION To be presented, with the permission of the Faculty of Social Sciences of the University of Helsinki, for public examination in lecture room 5, University main building, on 17 September 2016, at 12 noon. Helsinki 2016 Publications of the )DFXOW\ of Social 6FLHQFHV 2016:23 Media and Communication Studies © Virpi Salojärvi Photo: Virpi Salojärvi, 2011 © Virpi Salojärvi Distribution and Sales: Unigrafia Bookstore http://kirjakauppa.unigrafia.fi/ [email protected] PL 4 (Vuorikatu 3 A) 00014 Helsingin yliopisto ISSN 2343-273X (Print) ISSN 2343-2748 (Online) ISBN 978-951-51-1091-6 (Paperback) ISBN 978-951-51-1092-3 (PDF) Unigrafia, Helsinki, 2016 Abstract This dissertation investigates the role of media in political conflict during President Hugo Chávez’s administration (1999-2013). This conflict is under- stood as antagonism where the political opponent is seen as an enemy in- stead of a more equal adversary. In Venezuela, private media were powerful economic and political actors before Chávez’s era due to clientelistic tradi- tion. President Chávez questioned the neoliberal measures taken by previous governments and started to apply his politics of the “socialism of 21st centu- ry” in a manner that shaped his government’s media policies. Several private media outlets disagreed with his drastic measures and took them as an at- tack. Confrontation developed between the private media and state media sectors. This polarized situation offers an excellent case study to focus on the con- struction of hegemonies in a populist context, and the media’s role in it be- cause the society was penetrated by politics. Researching hegemonies should take into account differing parties of the conflict, which includes a variety of groups, even though on a macro level they are often treated as unified blocs. Thus, creating unity (the feeling of “us”) becomes important in order for he- gemonies to operate. A theoretical framework of hegemonies, antagonism, and populism frames examination of a variety of case studies, including newspaper content and the discourses of different media actors, with anal- yses of content, frame, visual rhetoric, and argumentation analysis. Three core findings are presented. First, in Venezuela during this period there were two populist power blocs, the Chavistas and their opposition, who both tried to create (counter-)hegemonic power and appeal to the people. Second, in a situation of hegemonic battles, the media functions as construc- tor of unity. As a result of the media’s role in unifying the groups and con- structing common identities, it became especially significant in this power struggle. Third, the construction of populist signifiers, which serve the func- tion of forming group cohesion, is a process where collective memories and values play essential roles. Ultimately, values in hegemony are not only forced from above but also rise from below as individuals adopt different values and make them personal, and in this way construct their own mean- ings for populist signifiers. 3 Tiivistelmä Väitöskirjassa tutkitaan median roolia Venezuelan poliittisessa konfliktissa presidentti Hugo Chávezin hallinnon (1999–2013) aikana. Konflikti on mää- ritelty tutkimuksessa antagonismiksi, jossa poliittinen vastustaja nähdään vihollisena eikä tasavertaisena vastustajana. Yksityinen media oli tärkeä ta- loudellinen ja poliittinen toimija jo ennen Chávezin aikaa klientelistisen pe- rinteen seurauksena. Chávez kyseenalaisti edeltävien hallitusten neoliberalis- tiset toimet ja sovelsi 21. vuosisadan sosialismiaan, joka koski myös me- diapolitiikkaa. Monet yksityiset mediat tulkitsivat Chávezin uudet, radikaalit linjaukset hyökkäyksenä vapaata mediaa vastaan, mistä seurasi konflikti yk- sityisen mediasektorin ja hallituksen ja valtionmedian välillä. Venezuelan kärjistynyt mediapoliittinen tilanne on otollinen kenttä he- gemonioiden rakentumisen tutkimukselle populistisessa kontekstissa. Me- diakentän polarisoitunut tilanne yhteiskunnassa, jossa politiikka on tunkeu- tunut elämän jokaiselle tasolle, tarjoaa myös mielenkiintoisen mahdollisuu- den median yhteiskunnallisen roolin tarkasteluun. Väitöskirjassa keskiössä on hegemonian sisäinen rakentuminen monesta eri ryhmästä, vaikka makro- tasolla hegemoniaa pidetäänkin yhtenä yhtenäisenä voimana. Tästä syystä yhtenäisyyden rakentaminen, tunne “meistä”, nousee tärkeäksi. Tutkimus lähestyy tätä teemaa teoreettisesti hegemonian, antagonismin ja populismin näkökulmista. Empiirisesti aihetta tarkastellaan tapaustutkimusten kautta, joissa keskitytään sanomalehtien sisältöihin ja eri mediatoimijoiden diskurs- seihin. Tutkimuksesta nousee esille kolme keskeistä tulosta. Ensinnäkin Vene- zuelassa on kaksi populistista valtablokkia, chavistit ja oppositio, jotka pyrki- vät luomaan (vasta)hegemonista voimaa ja saamaan “kansan” puolelleen. Toiseksi, hegemonioiden sisäisessä kamppailussa medialla on rooli yhtenäi- syyttä tuottavana voimana, kollektiivisen identiteetin rakentajana, mikä nou- see merkittäväksi valtakamppailussa. Kolmanneksi, populististen merkitsi- jöiden muodostuminen on prosessi, jossa kollektiivisella muistilla ja arvoilla on merkittävä rooli. Arvoja ei siis vain aseteta ylhäältä päin, vaan ne myös nousevat alhaalta käsin yksilöiden ja yhteisöjen omaksuessa eri arvoja ja tehden niistä henkilökohtaisia. Tällä tavoin venezuelalaiset rakentavat popu- lististen merkitsijöiden sisältöä. 4 Resumen La disertación investiga el papel de los medios de comunicación en el conflic- to político durante la administración del Presidente Hugo Chávez (1999- 2003). Aquí el conflicto está definido como una situación de antagonismo dónde el oponente político está visto como enemigo. En Venezuela, los me- dios privados eran actores poderosos en el marco político y económico ya antes de la época de Chávez. El presidente Chávez cuestionó la política neoli- beralista y empezó a aplicar su política del “socialismo del siglo 21”. Varios medios de comunicación discrepaban de los cambios drásticos y los percibie- ron como un ataque contra ellos. Esa situación de polarización ofrece una oportunidad de estudio excelente para investigar la construcción de hegemonías en contexto populista y el pa- pel de los medios en una sociedad compenetrada en la política. Mientras se investigan hegemonías se tomarán en cuenta los diferentes partidos del con- flicto, cuyos incluyen grupos distintos aunque en el nivel macro están trata- dos como bloques unificados. De esta manera, creando unidad (el sentimien- to de “nosotros”) se valida la operación de las hegemonías que a su vez per- mite su existencia . El marco teorético de hegemonías, antagonismo y popu- lismo enmarca la examinación de varios casos, incluyendo el contenido de los medios y discursos de actores mediáticos utilizando el análisis de contenido, marco, retórica visual y argumentación. En el estudio hay tres descubrimientos principales. Primero, en Venezuela había dos poderes populistas, los Chavistas y la oposición, que intentaron crear poder (contra)hegemónico y atraer el pueblo. Segundo, en una situa- ción de batalla hegemónica, los medios de comunicación funcionan como constructores de la unidad. El conflicto trajo como consecuencia que los me- dios se desempeñaran unificando a los grupos y construyendo identidades colectivas lo que se tradujo en un crecimiento significativo de la importancia de los medios. Tercero, la construcción de significantes populistas los cuales sirven para la formación de la cohesión del grupo, es un proceso donde la memoria colectiva y los valores tienen un papel importante. En el fondo, los valores en hegemonía no están solamente esforzados desde arriba pero ellos crecen desde abajo cuando las personas adaptan valores distintos y los hacen personales. De esa manera construyen su propio sentido para los significan- tes populistas. 5 Acknowledgements A long time ago in the seventies when Venezuela was going through its oil boom and the country was flourishing economically my parents, Raili and Kalervo Salojärvi, together with my older brother, Jarkko, decided to pack their belongings and head to this country far from Finland and without even speaking Spanish. I was not born yet but I owe my interest to and cultural knowledge of Latin America to this brave move. I grew up listening to stories of Venezuela and watching the endless slide shows of their stay. In addition to this cultural heritage from my childhood, I would like to thank them and also my brother’s family and Jouko Eteläinen for all the encouraging support I have received during the years. Unfortunately my father passed away 21 years ago but his spirit is still very much present. I would also like to express my gratitude to my supervisors. I started col- laborating with Professor Emerita Ullamaija Kivikuru back in 2006 so we share a long history and have developed a supervisor-supervisee relationship that works for us. She gives me the needed freedom to make my own mis- takes and learn from them but when I stray away too far from the path she guides me closer to where I wanted to go. I appreciate Dean and Professor Hannu Nieminen for all the comments he made about the theory of the re- search. There was a time when I did not know what to do with the theoretical framework of the research but with Hannu’s questions I found the theories I needed. I am honored to have such
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