Echoes of the People: Unveiling Populist Constructs in Chega and Vox’s Discourse on Elites
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.51480/1899-5101.18.2(40).726Keywords:
Social constructionism, Populist discourse, far-right, Chega, VoxAbstract
The following paper draws from the social constructionist approach (Burr 2015) and social identity theory (Tajfel, 1974) to analyze the populist discursive frameworks in the Facebook accounts of populist far-right parties Chega (Portugal) and Vox (Spain) during January‑March 2023. The aim is to demonstrate how country-based contexts affect and shape discursive constructions of the elites. Methodologically, this paper follows the discourse historical approach (Wodak, 2001) to critical discourse analysis. The results show that although both parties’ constructions of “the people” are identical, the same does not concern the elites, as Vox’s characterization of this group encompasses environmentalists, the media, feminists, trans people, and separatists. Neither Vox nor Chega places immigrants as part of either group but as a sub-group that is protected by the elites, with Chega adding the Roma ethnic minority to the same predicament.
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