When we commissioned the chapters for the Edward Elgar Handbook on Political Propaganda, Yiben, Noon and I hoped to include contributors who would adopt a unique perspective on their subject or analyse propaganda through case-studies that receive little attention in the existing literature. We are delighted that the Handbook contains two chapters on Mexico, a country with a fascinating political system and culture.
The first is written by my former PhD student, Ruben Arnoldo Gonzalez. Ruben is a journalist and scholar, currently working as a researcher at the Institute of Government Sciences and Strategic Development in Mexico where he chairs the Centre for Political Communication Studies.
The second is co-written with my colleague, Penny Franco Estrada, the Director of the Language Centre at the University of Nottingham Ningbo China, and also a former journalist. Through writing this chapter I learned a lot about presidential politics and elections in Mexico and about Internet memes - their contribution to the production and dissemination of propaganda.
Both chapters are concerned with political propaganda in Mexico's 2018 presidential elections which saw the electorate choosing a left wing candidate (known as AMLO). Therefore this was a landmark election: not only did it break a monopoly on political power by right and centre right governments, but also demonstrated the continued power of the media and the growing power of the internet and social media to influence the outcome. However, it is important to note that the political culture was also a significant reason for AMLO's success, especially high levels of corruption and crime and popular dissatisfaction with the way previous governments had failed to manage these problems. The election therefore demonstrates that propaganda does not function in a vacuum, but must be socially aware to work.
I reproduce the abstracts here. We are now finalising the proofs of the manuscript and the book is on schedule for publication in December 2021.
The Mexican 2018 presidential election in the media landscape: Newspaper coverage, TV spots, and Twitter Interaction
Ruben Arnoldo Gonzalez
The 2018 elections can be considered a watershed in Mexican contemporary politics. They were the largest in the history of the country (more than 3400 candidates ran for federal, state, and municipal posts), a left-oriented candidate was elected president for the first time, more than one hundred politicians were killed or injured during the process, and polarisation was the hallmark of the messages from both the candidates and their supporters. This chapter offers a comprehensive overview of the presidential election from three different angles: newspaper coverage, television spots, and candidates' Twitter activity. The empirical evidence indicates that, rather than specific political proposals, propaganda shaped much of the content in the Mexican media landscape during the campaigns.
Political propaganda and memes in Mexico: The 2018 presidential election
Penelope Franco Estrada and Gary Rawnsley
On 1 July 2018, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador (AMLO) won the presidential election in Mexico. This is the first time in Mexican history that a candidate representing the political left has won an election with an overwhelming 53.19 per cent of the vote representing more than 30 million voters. The turnout was an historic high - 63 per cent, bringing to an end a century of rule by by a centre-right party (PRI) and most recently by a rightwing party (PAN). In the 2018 election, social media became an arena for electoral competition, with campaigns either supporting AMLO or discrediting him as a candidate. All social media platforms were streamed with memes, videos, and political propaganda calling him either a hero or a populist. Many used the example of left governments in South America, with comparisons between Venezuela and Mexico. These memes warned social media users about the risks of voting for the left and for the 'Messiah' figure, while AMLO's campaign focused on highlighting the poor results of past administrations. In this chapter we explore how memes were used as weapons against AMLO in 2018, whether they were effective political instruments, or if memes directed against him actually increased the levels of polarisation.
