The Semantic Range of Latin American Discourse: The Many Ways of the Left

• In Event: 20481 - Section on Sociology of Development Roundtables
  In Refereed Roundtable (60 minute): Table 4. States and Governance

Abstract

Research on populism and political rhetoric has centered on the characteristics of speech by politicians. In contrast, this paper centers on public discourse about politicians. It explores the discourse about 33 presidents from 17 Latin American countries between 2005 and 2015, focusing on semantic density and diversity across the ideological spectrum and populist classifications. Contrary to expectations, we find that discourse about right-wing presidents is more homogeneous both within and across countries, while left-wing populist presidents are discussed more heterogeneously. Using sentiment analysis and close readings of documents, we argue that conflict-driven processes of hegemonic contestation explain these differences. The populist left, divided between critics and supporters of emerging regimes in the 2000s, generated a broader range of discursive perspectives in conflict, whereas the right’s more consistent discourse reflects political consolidation and domination. The homogeneity and heterogeneity observed in these discourses indicate underlying struggles for political hegemony and show that computational methods can offer insights into cross-national comparisons of political discourse.

Author

• Nicolas Torres-Echeverry, University of Chicago