Voices and Resistance: Social Empowerment in the Face of the Discourse of Power in Latin America
Course Overview
This course offers an interdisciplinary analysis of political discourse in Latin America, focusing not only on the production of messages by presidential elites but, crucially, on their reception, reinterpretation, and response by citizens. It integrates tools from Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) in its Latin American context (Bolívar, 2018 and 2019) with sociopolitical studies on social movements, citizen empowerment, and public spheres (Zibechi, 2012). The primary objective is to examine how discourses of power, particularly those of the presidency, are interpreted, confronted, or appropriated by society, analyzing the gaps between the official message and collective perceptions. Participants will understand how the ideas reflected in presidential speeches can influence the institutional order and learn the tools to decipher discursive strategies and foster a critical perspective that contributes to a more horizontal and participatory democracy.
Seminar Leaders
Dr. Juan Carlos Rosillo-Villena
Independent Scholar
COLUMBIA GLOBAL CENTER, SANTIAGO, CHILE
Juan Carlos Rosillo-Villena is a researcher and academic whose work integrates Discourse Analysis, Gender Studies, and Social Sciences, drawing particularly from Political Science and Discursive Institutionalism. He earned his Ph.D in 2024 from the Institute of Advanced Studies at the University of Santiago, Chile.
Dr. David Petit Molano
Independent Scholar
COLUMBIA GLOBAL CENTER, SANTIAGO, CHILE
David Petit Molano is an educator, researcher, and consultant. His academic and professional experience has enabled him to leverage interdisciplinary approaches and direct them toward public policies. He earned his doctorate in 2023 from the Institute of History at the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile.
Syllabus and Readings
Course Schedule
March 6
Week 1: How do presidential speeches construct power?
Hosted on Zoom
- Rosillo-Villena, J. (2023). “Make our People Great Again: The People According to Progressive Latin American Presidents.” Árboles y Rizomas 5(1). https://doi.org/10.35588/ayr.v5i1.5996
march 13
Week 2: Latin American Political Languages and the Relationship Between Citizenship and the Presidency
Hosted on Zoom
- Roberts, Kenneth. (2007). Latin America’s Populist Revival. SAIS Review. 27. 3-15. 10.1353/sais.2007.0018 https://sci-hub.red/10.1353/sais.2007.0018
march 20
Week 3: Colombia Under Petro’s Presidency: Peace as Motto
Hosted on Zoom
- Chapter 1: On Conviction and Moderation in Gustavo Petro, the Politician. In Análisis del discurso político: combates verbales de Gustavo Petro / Giohanny Olave Arias… [y otros]. 2022. PP 19-34.
march 27
Week 4: Mexico Under López’s Presidency: Health as Imperative
Hosted on Zoom
- Castro Cornejo, R. (2022). The AMLO Voter: Affective Polarization and the Rise of the Left in Mexico. Journal of Politics in Latin America, 15(1), 96-112. https://doi.org/10.1177/1866802X221147067
april 3
Week 5: Chile Under Bachelet’s Presidency: It Will be a Country
Hosted on Zoom
- Stevenson, Linda S. “The Bachelet Effect on Gender Equity Policies.” Latin American Perspectives 39, no. 4 (2012): 129–44. https://doi.org/10.1353/lar.2010.0036
april 10
Week 6: Uruguay under Vázquez’s Presidency: Society and Rights
Hosted on Zoom
- Reyes, F. (2018). The Consensus in the Inaugural Addresses of Tabaré Vázquez and José Mujica. Discurso y Sociedad, 12(4), 660-682.
https://dialnet.unirioja.es/servlet/articulo?codigo=6767301
april 17
Week 7: Argentina under Fernández’s Presidency: The Politics Vindication
Hosted on Zoom
- Ramsburg, J. (2021). Epistemic legitimization y inter/subjectivity in the presidential discourse of Cristina Fernández de Kirchner. Diálogo de la Lengua, XIII, 55-71.https://dialogodelalengua.com/articulo/pdf/13/4_Ramsburg_DL_2021.pdf
april 24
Week 8: Ecuador under Correa’s Presidency: Development and Education
Hosted on Zoom
- Bravo, G. (2018). ANALYSIS OF THE RHETORIC AND CONTENT OF THE THREE PRESIDENTIAL INAUGURAL SPEECHES IN ECUADOR. BY RAFAEL CORREA DELGADO. MARCO (Márketing y Comunicación Política), 4, 45-68.
https://revistas.usc.gal/index.php/marco/article/view/5425
may 1
Week 9: Bolivia under Morales’s Presidency. People’s Fight Against Capitalism
Hosted on Zoom
- Benevante, C. (2008). EVO MORALES,SON OF THE PEOPLE AND
- FIRST INDIGENOUS PRESIDENT. (Ed.), Los tele-presidentes: cerca del pueblo, lejos de la democracia (págs. 55-66). Centro de Competencia en Comunicación para América Latina, Friedrich Ebert Stiftung.
https://fescomunica.fes.de/fileadmin/user_upload/pdf/publicaciones/libros/2008_Telepresidentes.pdf
may 8
Week 10: Venezuela under Chávez’s Presidency: People as Essence of Bolivarian Democracy
Hosted on Zoom
- López Maya, M. (2022). Populistas de izquierda en el gobierno: la experiencia de Venezuela. Desafíos, 34(2), 1-19. https://doi.org/10.12804/revistas.urosario
Certificates of Satisfactory Completion
Participants who attend 8 out of 10 complete seminar sessions are eligible to receive a Certificate of Satisfactory Completion signed by the Dean of The New School for Social Research.