Representations of youth activism in electoral campaigns on Television

Brazil and Argentina through time

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.34629/cpublica.886

Keywords:

political activism, electoral campaign, Argentina, Brazil, youth

Abstract

This paper seeks to analyse how electoral campaign ads on TV visually portray youth activism. It focuses on the presidential campaigns of the two most voted candidates in two Latin American countries, Argentina and Brazil, and it compares two different periods: the late 1980s and the 2010s. The aim is to understand these audiovisual representations of political youth activism within the background of wider and intertwined processes, such as the transformations of the political linkage -that is, the shaping of political identities and political commitment- since the return to democracy in both countries; and also the reconfiguration and professionalization of electoral campaigning through the years (and, thus, a mutation in the linkage between candidates, grassroots activists and voters). With a sample of 12 candidates’ campaigns, we carry out content analysis of political advertising (TV spots in Argentina and electoral TV programs or HGPE in Brazil) from a qualitative methodological perspective, tracking and interpreting messages and the use of images in order to understand how youth activism is portrayed in political campaigns.

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Author Biography

  • Dolores Rocca Rivarola, CONICET/UBA

    Researcher at the National Council for Scientific and Technical Research (CONICET) and at the Gino Germani Research Institute (IIGG-UBA). Member of the Group of Studies in Politics and Youth (GEPOJU). PhD in Social Sciences, Universidad de Buenos Aires (UBA). Degree in Political Science (UBA). Most recent papers have been published in the Brazilian Political Science Review (2021), Revista Brasileira de Ciências Sociais (2023), Revista Temas y Debates (2023). Co-editor of the books Juventudes militantes desde la recuperación democrática: participación política, vida cotidiana y cultura (2024, IIGG/CLACSO) and Young people in complex and unequal societies : doing Youth Studies in Spain and Latin America (2022, Brill). 

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Published

2025-06-30

How to Cite

Representations of youth activism in electoral campaigns on Television: Brazil and Argentina through time. (2025). Comunicação Pública, 20(38). https://doi.org/10.34629/cpublica.886