It has become common to state that criminal violence has superseded political violence in Central America. This paper presents the first results of a research project which analyses the social construction of violent realities in Costa Rica, El Salvador and Nicaragua. The authors describe the print media landscape in Central America and examine both the quality of leading newspapers and the main clusters of topics constituting the news discourse on violence. The analysis of the macro-structure of topic management in Central American newspapers allows to differentiate the "talk of crime": it is more heterogeneous than often thought. There are signs that the problem of juvenile delinquency is emerging as the center of a cross-country discourse on "ordinary violence". On the other hand, the talk of crime is centered around few topic clusters, with sexual violence and border-related discourse on violence being of key importance. Finally, the paper points to a heterogeneous array of discourse events that is connected to political developments and power-relations.Key words: Central America, violence, discourse analysis, media
The article analyzes the social construction of youth violence in Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and El Salvador on the one hand, and the related security policies of the three states, on the other. In each country, there is an idiosyncratic way of constructing youth violence and juvenile delinquency. Also, each country has its own manner of reaction to those problems. In El Salvador youths are socially constructed as a threat to security, and the state implements predominantly repressive policies to protect citizens against that threat. In Nicaragua and Costa Rica, where the social discourse on youth violence is less prominent, the state’s policies are neither very accentuated nor very coherent, whether in terms of repressive or nonrepressive measures. There are strong relationships and mutual influences between the public’s fear (or disregard) of youth violence and the state’s policies to reduce it.
The paper analyzes the social construction of youth violence in Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and El Salvador on the one hand, and the related security policies of the three states, on the other. In each country, there is an idiosyncratic way of constructing youth violence and juvenile delinquency. Also, each country has its own manner of reaction to those problems.In El Salvador youths are socially constructed as a threat to security, and the state implements predominantly repressive policies to protect citizens against that threat. In Nicaragua and Costa Rica, where the social discourse on youth violence is less prominent, the Juventud, delincuencia y las respuestas del EstadoEste artículo analiza la construcción social de la violencia juvenil en Nicaragua, Costa Rica y El Salvador por un lado, y las políticas de seguridad relacionadas a este fenómeno por otro.En cada uno de los países existe una manera específica de construir la violencia y la delincuencia juveniles. Cada país tiene su propio modo de reaccionar a estos problemas. En El Salvador los jóvenes son socialmente construidos como una amenaza a la seguridad de los ciudadanos, y la sociedad tiene que protegerse ante esta amenaza por medio de políticas represivas. En Nicaragua y Costa Rica, donde el discurso sobre la violencia juvenil es de perfil menos destacado en el debate público, las políticas del Estado no son ni muy marcados ni muy coherentes, sea que se trate de medidas represivas o no-represivas. Existen influencias recíprocas y una relación fuerte entre el miedo a (o el hacer caso omiso de) la violencia juvenil y las políticas del Estado dirigidas a reducirla.
In Central America, legislation aiming to reduce violence and crime has become an important topic in the security debate. Focusing on Costa Rica, El Salvador, and Nicaragua, this paper analyzes laws and other legal texts regarding the trade in and consumption of drugs on the one hand, and gender-related violence on the other. It shows how the content and the wording of legal texts contribute to the social construction of stereotyped offenders, such as youth gang members, drug users, or foreign nationals. The legal texts in Costa Rica, El Salvador, and Nicaragua reflect both the hegemonic and the counter-discursive influences on each country's legal discourse. Resumen Discursos de violencia en Costa Rica, El Salvador y Nicaragua:Leyes y la construcción de la violencia relacionada con drogas y género En Centroamérica, la legislación para reducir la violencia y el crimen es un tema importante en el marco del debate sobre seguridad. En este trabajo se analizan leyes y otros textos jurídicos de Costa Rica, El Salvador y Nicaragua relacionados al comercio y al consumo de drogas por un lado y a la violencia de género por otro. Se muestra como el contenido y el lenguaje de los textos jurídicos contribuyen a la construcción social de victimarios estereotipados, como por ejemplo los miembros de pandillas juveniles, consumidores de drogas o extranjeros. Los textos jurídicos de Costa Rica, El Salvador y Nicaragua reflejan que tanto el discurso hegemónico como discursos alternativos influyen en el discurso jurídico.
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