Discourse Analysis of Gustavo Petro on the Colombian Press. An Eristic Approach

Abstract

This article investigates the relationship between the current Colombian presidential discourse and the information and opinion sectors in the country, presenting it as an “eristic relationship” that follows its own rules of the game and that shows specific functions in the democratic system. The methodological approach is the Discourse analysis from an interpretive perspective, through the study of two public scenes: an oratory intervention at the Simón Bolívar awards ceremony (2022) and an interview given to Cambio magazine (2023). The results show two strategies constructed by the presidential statement in reaction to what it considers attacks by the power groups that control these media: metadiscursivity in the key of struggle for truthful information and the construction of the discourse object “journalistic story” as a tool for verbal combat. It is concluded that the introduction of a conflictual model between journalism and national government is where the President most clearly crystallizes his effort to reject links with sectors and practices of the most traditional political power, an issue that is displaced by the spectacularization of the dispute.