From Confrontation to Institutionalization: The Evolution of Spanish Minister Óscar Puente's Digital Communication During the 2024 DANA Crisis

Abstract

This study analyzes the digital communication strategy of Spanish Minister Óscar Puente during the DANA crisis in Spain in late 2024. In a politically polarized environment and following his lowest approval rating as a minister according to the CIS, Puente emerged as a voice of transparency and accessibility to mitigate the economic, social, and political crisis triggered by the disaster. His personal X (formerly Twitter) account was chosen as the primary platform for analysis due to the significant increase in his posts and a notable rise in followers during the selected period. The objective is to analyze how crisis communication on social media, particularly on X, can influence public perception of political figures during emergency situations. Content analysis was employed as the methodology for this study, focusing on three key perspectives: thematic classification of tuits, classification by content type, and classification based on the tone of the messages. Additionally, the analysis incorporated quantitative metrics such as engagement levels, as well as the most frequently used mentions and hashtags. The results underline that Puente effectively used the social network to share updates, express empathy and promote his administration's achievements, which significantly improved his public perception, according to the CIS barometer two months later. The findings also underscore the role of humor and multimedia content in fostering engagement and trust among users.