Abstract
The increased emergence of populist governments around the world has generated a profound debate in social sciences aimed at explaining the populist phenomenon from its multidimensional sphere. The central idea for this work stems from the premise that it is in the discourse, in this case visual, where symbols lend meaning to a populist narrative. We assume that populist communication adopts three characteristic elements: (1) a perceived homogeneity of the people; (2) a negative attitude towards a corrupt elite, and (3) anti out-group attitudes towards minorities. Through a multimodal semiotic analysis, posts from the Mexican president's Facebook account were analysed to establish a series of categories that appeal to the central axes of a generic populist political communication and to the presentation of a particular style of communication that seeks to highlight those qualities of AMLO who are both charismatic and philanthropic in their role as head of state.
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Notes
- 1.
This model serves two trends in the region: the intensification of corporate power in the media and the repositioning of nation states—and of the executive power specifically—in the definition of communication policies that do not necessarily favour the general interest (Guerrero & Márquez, 2014).
- 2.
The closing date was a methodological choice based on the planned work schedule for the development of the research and the writing and sending of this chapter.
- 3.
- 4.
AMLO's political project is sustained by the narrative of a “fourth transformation” of public life, adopting a socio-historical angle in which (1) Independence, (2) the Revolution, and (3) the reform laws of President Benito Juárez are milestones that precede this fourth transformative movement that he himself encapsulates.
- 5.
In a publication from 3 April in which he is seen eating in the same place, with the accompanying text: Having breakfast with senator Ricardo Monreal.
- 6.
For example, the corn toasts are named as totopostle, a word derived from Nahuatl. The name Nahua or Nahuatl designates an indigenous group and a set of closely related indigenous languages that are spoken in different areas of Mexico and Central America and that exist, at least, since the fifth century.
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Juárez-Gámiz, J., Pérez, C.C. (2023). The Visual Construction of Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s Populist Communication on Facebook. In: Veneti, A., Rovisco, M. (eds) Visual Politics in the Global South. Political Campaigning and Communication. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-22782-0_5
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