“Locas de Mayo” ou “Madres de Mayo”? As representações do movimento argentino nos jornais do Brasil (1978-1988)

Abstract

This study analyzes the representations of the Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo in the Brazilian press, drawing on newspapers available in the National Library’s Digital Newspaper Archive. The timeframe spans the years 1978 to 1988, a period corresponding to the final years of the Brazilian civil-military dictatorship and the country's redemocratization process. The research aims to identify and understand the representations of the Argentine movement constructed by Brazilian periodicals, analyzing their continuities and transformations over the period. To this end, documentary and bibliographic research was conducted, involving a qualitative and quantitative analysis of selected news reports. The results demonstrate that representations of the Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo mirrored the transformations in the Brazilian political context, shifting from approaches shaped by the authoritarian era to discourses emphasizing human rights, memory, and democracy during the redemocratization process. The study concludes that the Brazilian press played a significant role in constructing these representations, reflecting the political and social changes experienced by the country.