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The Discourse of Crisis - The Narratives of Chile’s ‘Estallido Social’ Shared by Traditional Media Outlets on Twitter / ROBERT YARR
Swansea University Author: ROBERT YARR
Abstract
This dissertation examines the narratives of Chile’s estallido social [social outburst] (2019–2020) as constructed and circulated through headlines shared by influential traditional media nodes on Twitter (now X). It situates these narratives within Chile’s broader socio-political context of neolibe...
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Swansea
2026
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| Institution: | Swansea University |
| Degree level: | Master of Research |
| Degree name: | MA by Research |
| Supervisor: | López-Terra, F., and Lublin, G. |
| URI: | https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa71759 |
| Abstract: |
This dissertation examines the narratives of Chile’s estallido social [social outburst] (2019–2020) as constructed and circulated through headlines shared by influential traditional media nodes on Twitter (now X). It situates these narratives within Chile’s broader socio-political context of neoliberalism, democratic history, and new social movements and contributes a novel methodology, proposing ‘tweet frames’ as a mode for analysis. Drawing on multimodal critical discourse analysis (CDA) approaches, the thesis analyses how mainstream news outlets framed the unrest when their headlines were disseminated on Twitter, considering tweets as they appear in-platform, as opposed to conducting deep analysis of the journalistic content itself. This accounts for the fact that these items are highly tailored and have specific affordances which create unique engagement strategies and inform opinions in a similar fashion to traditional news media. The findings reveal a consistent discursive pattern:protestors were delegitimised through portrayals of violence and disruption, whilst state authorities were framed as rational, calm, and legitimate actors. Protestors’ own positions were systematically absent, and government perspectives were amplified, producing a discourse of ‘civilisation versus disorder’ that narrowed space for dissent. The research highlights how tweets, headlines and carefully selected images on Twitter functioned as powerful gatekeepers of meaning, shaping public perceptions during a moment of national crisis. By combining theories of new social movements, media framing, and Polanyi’s notion of the ‘double movement,’ this thesis demonstrates how digital headline circulation reinforced elite-driven discourses, even amid widespread contestation of Chile’s neoliberal order. In doing so, it contributes to understanding the intersection between social media, media discourse, and democratic struggle in contemporary Latin America. |
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| Keywords: |
Chile, estallido social, social outburst, social uprising, critical discourse analysis, protest, social movement, latin america, latin american studies. |
| College: |
Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences |