The Events and Actors of 11 September 2001 As Seen from Uruguay: Analysis of Daily Newspaper Editorials

Abstract

The aim of this article is to identify some of the discursive properties of the Uruguayan media coverage of the events of 11 September 2001 and their aftermath. The specific focus is on the construction of inand out-group identity through representation of the events and its participants. In addition, the article explores how local political agendas are advanced by arguments that connect these events to local struggles/issues. The analysis is from a critical perspective that conceives language as a social practice construed by, and at the same time construing, the social. This conceptualization of the relationship between language and the social allows us to explore the political sphere through its realizations in language. The aim is to problematize the ‘naturalized’ or hegemonic aspects of the discursive practices identified.