Beyond pluralism: communication rigths and civil society in Latin America

MARÍA SOLEDAD SEGURA

Media and Governance in Latin America: Towards a Plurality of Voices

Peter Lang

Año: 2021; p. 1 - 274

In the course of the 21st century, multilateral organizations and transnational civil societyorganizations (CSOs) as well as CSOs in many Latin American countries have developed andpromoted the theoretical-normative approach of the human right to communicate. Although the dispute over communication policies in Latin America seemed to be restricted to confrontations between governments and media corporations, local CSOs have had, under very specific national conditions, an unprecedented role in their debate and formulation. As a result of their impact, most of the new communication policies - despite non-minor differences - have laid the foundations to help democratize the structure and functioning of media systems. Upon studying such media reform movements ? the CSOs that promote human rights-based communication policy reforms ?, it becomes evident that the notion of pluralism is, in itself, a plural one, and it is the subject of controversial debates.Thus, this chapter addresses the following questions: Which notion of pluralism has been promoted by Latin American CSOs in the 21st century? How did they build this notion and who with? Which new communication policies in Latin America are based on a human rights framework as a result of the influence of CSOs? To answer these questions, I revisit the research and comparative study about social participation and impact on communication policy reforms in Latin America in the 21st century that I have worked on in the last decade, which was based on the analysis of documents produced by CSOs and by governments and official bodies, as well as on interviews with activists and government officials.