Article



Dados vol. 60 n. 2 Rio de Janeiro abr./jun. 2017

The Brazilian Press and its “Moral Crusades”: An Analysis of Several Cases under President Getúlio Vargas’ Second Term and President Lula da Silva’s First Term

Goldstein, Ariel

Abstract

ABSTRACT By means of an analysis of the contexts and debates in editorials and other sections of O Estado de S. Paulo and O Globo newspapers during Getúlio Vargas’ second presidential term and Lula da Silva’s first presidential term, the following article explores the characteristics of what it terms the “moralization of politics” adopted by the press during both periods. In this sense, it is argued that the strategy of colonizing public matters with the distinction between “honest” and “corrupt” was aimed at silencing public debate, focusing the accusations of corruption on governments and concealing the historical appropriation of the ruling classes. The press was therefore complicit in naturalizing the social order in Brazil, with the two newspapers also favoring the shaping of political crisis scenarios so significant as to have rocked these governments.

Keywords: Lula, Vargas, press, Brazil, politics

DOI: 10.1590/001152582017124

Full text

The Brazilian Press and its “Moral Crusades”: An Analysis of Several Cases under President Getúlio Vargas’ Second Term and President Lula da Silva’s First Term