Learnings for the management of political communication. Analysis of media narratives for the legitimization of exceptional measures in El Salvador (2016-2018)

Abstract

The approval of extraordinary and transitory measures after the dissolution in the negotiations between the Salvadoran government and the gang representatives were proposed to dismantle the criminal structures that operate in El Salvador under the category of gangs. For its approval, it was observed the deployment of a series of media stories by political actors of the Executive and Legislative Bodies, as well as representatives of institutions responsible for ensuring safety and well-being, whose speeches had specific rhetorical characteristics of a war permanent and a state of exceptionality that seems not to weaken over time. The media devices allowed the construction of events with the involvement of the audiences, which granted legitimacy to the measures, focused on repression and supported by the largest partisan political forces in the country, but strongly criticized by national and international actors.