Latin American Media
How media systems in Latin America navigate between powerful media conglomerates, populist governments, and strong traditions of investigative journalism.
The Oligarchic Media Tradition
Latin American media has historically been dominated by a small number of powerful family-owned conglomerates. Mexico's Televisa and TV Azteca controlled over 90% of television viewership for decades. Brazil's Globo is one of the largest media conglomerates in the world. Argentina's Clarin Group dominates print and broadcast. Colombia's media is concentrated among a handful of economic groups.
This concentration has created media systems where powerful families and business groups have outsized influence over public discourse. The relationship between these conglomerates and political power has often been symbiotic — media owners receive favorable regulation and government advertising, while politicians receive favorable coverage. When this relationship breaks down, as it did in Venezuela under Chavez and in Bolivia under Morales, the conflict between government and media becomes one of the defining political dynamics.