O Brasil na Economist : pensando a influência do perfil político-ideológico da revista na formação da imagem internacional do país

Abstract

The Brazilian international image is subject of debate for a long time. It is important to notice that both the official discourse and the way other actors represent a country are relevant for the construction of its image. Among these, the international media has been acquiring an increasingly important role. The purpose of this work is to understand how Brazil was represented and how its images are constructed and deconstructed. With this intent, the British magazine The Economist was chosen as a case study for its relevance in the international arena. Another goal is to inform the political and ideological profile of the magazine and to understand to what extent this influences their coverage. In order to establish a time frame we will analyse the coverage in four different moments: a) the military dictatorship (1964-1984), b) the first governments after democratization (1985-1994), c) Fernando Henrique Cardoso’s government (1995-2002) and d) Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s period (2003-2010). To achieve the proposed objectives, editorials, articles and special reports were analysed. The methodology used was content analysis. From the first reading the most significant issues and quotes were divided into themes and sub-themes. It was possible to ascertain that Brazil has always been present among The Economist relevant issues. We could identify that the magazine was more interested in some specific themes and these contributed to the construction of images of Brazil. The political and ideological profile of the magazine ca be identified with two basic ideas: the defence of economic liberalism combined with certain political conservatism. The manner that Brazil was reported and interpreted reflected this position and it can be seen repeatedly. For example: in the defence of the military intervention, the use of Brazil as an example of adherence to free market and the almost absence of criticism for the human rights abuses. On the other hand, debt and inflation appeared to be the elements that headed the criticism. After that, the economic stability and the country emergency were striking images. The Economist seems to maintain an editorial line that subordinates politics to economics and the magazine's profile contributed to construct a more positive or negative image of Brazil depending on domestic and international context.