UNIVERSITEIT VAN AMSTERDAM Media representation and Youth Crime in El Salvador Bachelor Thesis Human Geography Johannes Chinchilla 10179690 18-6-2014 This research focusses on the ways in which Salvadoran media have traditionally reported about youth-crime. Attention is paid to the Salvadoran context, which seems to have been violent for over several decades. Possible consequences the media may have on the public interpretation of youth crime will be discussed, as the public interpretation of youth crime might contribute to possible solutions Inhoud Introduction ..................................................................................................................................................................2 Framework ................................................................................................................................................................2 Research Methods ...................................................................................................................................................8 Chapter Layout ........................................................................................................................................................9 Chapter 1: The Salvadoran Context .................................................................................................................... 10 Historical and Political Context ....................................................................................................................... 10 Precedents of Civil War ................................................................................................................................. 10 The Legacy of the Civil War ........................................................................................................................ 14 Socio-economic Context ..................................................................................................................................... 15 Poverty, Inequality and Social Exclusion .................................................................................................. 16 Geography of inequalities .............................................................................................................................. 19 Chapter 2: Youth Crime .......................................................................................................................................... 21 Crime in General and Social Conflict ......................................................................................................... 21 Culture of Violence .......................................................................................................................................... 24 Youth Crime in General and the Gang Phenomenon ............................................................................ 25 Chapter 3: Salvadoran Media ................................................................................................................................. 29 Media and Democracy .................................................................................................................................... 29 Salvadoran Media: it’s just Business ........................................................................................................... 30 Print Media and Online Newspapers .......................................................................................................... 32 Legislation, Diversity and Ownership ....................................................................................................... 33 Chapter 4: Media Discourse ................................................................................................................................... 35 Salvadoran Media Discourse ............................................................................................................................. 35 Discourse Analysis ............................................................................................................................................... 40 Representation of reality ................................................................................................................................ 40 Stereotypes ........................................................................................................................................................ 41 Representativeness .......................................................................................................................................... 44 The message ..................................................................................................................................................... 45 Chapter 5: Public Interpretation of Youth Crime ............................................................................................. 48 Creating the ‘Other’ ........................................................................................................................................ 48 Construction of Discourse and Public Interpretation of Youth Crime .............................................. 50 Consequences negative media-representation .......................................................................................... 52 Conclusion .................................................................................................................................................................. 54 1 Introduction Although the amount of reported homicides decreased in 2013, El Salvador is still listed number four in the list of countries with the highest murder rates (Marroquín, 2014). In 2013 a total of 2,492 murders was registered, of which the majority of victims were males between 15 and 39 years old (Lohmuller, 2014). A common explanation for the high murder rate and the insecurity in the country is the presence of gangs or pandillas in Spanish. After the civil war, that lasted from 1980 until 1992, the problems associated with these gangs increased, or at least they were given more attention. Even now, 22 years after the civil war, not one day passes by without the media reporting something about these gangs. The majority of these media have showed to be influenced by politics and the private sector (Aguilar, 2006). Aguilar, for example, argues that although the gangs were perceived as a severe problem by society, it has not always been perceived as the biggest or most important problem for the people. However, when in October 2003 the right-wing government launched its new (aggressive) plan called ‘Mano Dura’ to fight the gangs, far more people indicated to perceive the gangs as the major national problem. Although the gang phenomenon is probably one of the most studied issues in Central America, there seems to be a gap in the literature –especially in English literature– about the way in which the media present information about these gangs. As not all homicides are related to gang violence, but most of them are related to violence from and among youngsters, the focus of this investigation will be on (the media coverage on) issues related to youth- violence and crime in general. The central research question of this investigation is as follows: How is youth crime and violence currently being pictured in the Salvadoran media and in what way may this influence the public opinion about youth crime? Framework In order to answer the research question it is useful to revise the literature existing literature on the topic, as various interesting ideas and concepts can be used. Xavier Giró (2006) shows us that the media do almost to improve the situation in the country when it comes to youth violence and gangs. Instead, they often present a one-sided story that is often stigmatizing. Amparro Marroquín Parducci (2006) writes about a self-fulfilling prophecy in which the media are even aggravating the problems surrounding youth violence. The article explains how certain images of stereotypes and certain stigmas can contribute to a vicious circle of violence and the author recommends that the media alter their way of reporting certain facts, if they want to be part of the solution. Aguilar and 2 Carranza (2011) describe the emergence of youth-gangs and focuses especially on the (social) opportunities of these youngsters. They plead for a wider and more structural approach to integrate these often excluded actors into society. This article is useful to understand the underlying causes of youth crime and gang culture, both in the past as in the present. Martel (2006) queries the ‘official discourse’ on gangs. Although the author recognizes the presence of these gangs and the negative consequences of many of their deeds, she points out that the commotion around those gangs is often a form of propaganda, used to justify policy changes that are mainly benefiting the people that are involved in decision making processes. From the ideas and concepts provided by these and some additional articles, it is possible to extract the necessary guidance for the investigation. Hence, the conceptual model builds on the information collected from the existing literature. Research Design The research will basically exist out of three main topics, which will form the guidelines for this research. The three topics are divided in different chapters and will focus on: • The most important causes behind youth crime and the main characteristics of youth crime • The approach of the different Salvadoran media