O Neoliberalismo nos Editoriais: o Discurso de O Globo e O Estado de S. Paulo sobre a Previdência Social brasileira

Abstract

This paper analyzes the presence of elements of neoliberal rhetoric in editorials of the newspapers O Globo and O Estado de S. Paulo on the two proposals for Social Security reform that were discussed in the Brazilian Parliament between 2017 and 2019, during the administrations of Michel Temer and Jair Bolsonaro. We begin with a discussion on neoliberalism, followed by the characterization of the editorial as a space of enunciation of the interests of the journalistic enterprise, identified in this study as an interested political actor. In the empirical analysis, by employing discourse analysis combined with textual analysis, we identify the argumentative patterns of the editorialists on the reform of the national welfare system. The hypothesis of the study is that the discourse constructed by the newspapers reaffirms the privatistic perspective of rights, one of the cornerstones of neoliberalism. The research indicates that the newspapers forged a false consensus on the theme, exploring argumentative patterns that show the performance of the press as a device to vocalize the neoliberal rationale in peripheral capitalist contexts.