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Article published In: Journal of Language and Politics
Vol. 24:3 (2025) ► pp.505–527

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From war to crime rhetoric

The evolution in the presidential framing of the 2019 Chilean social uprising

ORCiD logo with link | Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile
ORCiD logo with link | New York University
ORCiD logo with link | University College London
ORCiD logo with link | Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile
Published online: 8 April 2024
DOI logo with link
https://doi.org/10.1075/jlp.23155.dot
Abstract
In October 2019, Chile witnessed an unprecedented social uprising, with millions of citizens rising against social inequalities and injustice. The government employed various strategies to end demonstrations, including the speeches delivered by President Piñera. This study aims to explore the representation of protests and their actors in the presidential discourse and how it evolved over the course of events. Our analysis of themes, discursive actions, and attitudinal appraisals, coupled with a temporal framework, reveals that the initial framing of the uprising as a war shifted to crime rhetoric, possibly in response to negative reactions from the audience. Despite the President adopting a seemingly softer rhetoric later on, our study suggests that violence and division remained prominent themes in his speeches. Examining discourse shifts and fluctuations throughout the timeline of the social upheaval provides a comprehensive understanding of how political discourse is shaped in the midst of an unparalleled social uprising
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
    • 1.1Political discourse and the delegitimization of protests
    • 1.2Analysis of political discourse in Chile and Latin America
    • 1.3Incorporating a time frame in discourse analysis
  • 2.The present study
  • 3.Method
    • 3.1Data Selection
    • 3.2Data analysis
  • 4.Analysis
    • 4.1Themes: Violence, public order, and policies
    • 4.2Discursive actions: Evaluations, promises, and requests
    • 4.3Appraisals: From delinquents to delinquency
  • 5.Discussion
  • 6.Conclusion
  • Notes
  • References
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