Right-wing populism in Portugal: journalistic news frames in 2021 Presidential Election

Abstract

The article addresses the phenomenon of populism through the meanings attributed to the concept by the Portuguese press. From a qualitative study of the frames attributed to the candidacy of André Ventura, leader of the anti-system political party Chega, during the electoral period referring to the Portuguese presidential elections of 2021, we intend to identify the meanings attributed to populism, the differences in the framing of the phenomenon in the quality press and tabloid press, and the relation of the phenomenon with the media field. In the Portuguese press analyzed, five frames were essentially found: polarization, anti-system rhetoric, nationalism, nativism and messianism. Our study also identified variations of frames by the analyzed newspapers, Público and Correio da Manhã, concluding that the tabloid press analyzed is more permeable to the values of conflict, novelization and dramatization, values normally exploited by populist communication.