Trade Integration and Communication Networks in Latin America

Abstract

Over the last few years, academic discussions about the state of communications in the Americas, particularly those discussions taking place in the northern part of the continent, sometimes slide into one or more of the following misunderstandings: the provincialist view, which considers the entire hemisphere to be involved in a single process of trade liberalization, like the NAFTA; the overly simplified view, which assumes that the southern countries are a homogeneous group, from the point of view of cultural and technical vistas; the belief that there has been no effort to integrate these countries' communications; and the globalist view, which aims at forgetting the profound peculiarities which radically differentiate American communications from those of the rest of the world. Keeping in mind these traps and dangers, in this presentation I would like to specify that there exist not one but many processes of trade liberalization affecting the Americas; introduce a view of the internal complexity and heterogeneity of the region; enumerate prior Latin American attempts at communications integration, looking at materials and goals; and present three peculiarities which differentiate the region from the rest of the world. Résumé: Depuis quelques années, les discussions académiques sur les communications dans les Amériques, particulièrement celles ayant lieu dans la moitié nord de ces continents, s'empêtrent parfois dans un ou plusieurs des quatre malentendus suivants: la perspective "provincialiste", qui croit que l'hémisphère entier est en train de s'engager dans un seul grand processus de libéralisation d'échange, à l'instar de l'Accord de libre-échange nord-américain; la perspective simpliste à l'excès, qui suppose que les pays du Sud sont homogènes, tant du point de vue culturel que technique; la croyance qu'il n'y a eu aucun effort d'associer les communications dans ces divers pays; et la perspective "globalisante", qui oublie les particularités profondes qui rendent les communications nord- et sud-américaines radicalement différentes de celles du reste du monde. Tenant compte de ces pièges et dangers, nous aimerions dans cet article spécifier qu'il n'existe pas qu'un seul processus de libéralisation d'échange touchant les Amériques, mais bien plusieurs; souligner la complexité interne et l'hétérogénéité de la région; décrire des tentatives antérieures en Amérique latine d'intégrer les communications, en se concentrant sur matériaux et objectifs; et présenter quelques unes des caractéristiques qui distinguent cette région du reste du monde.

Television Soap Operas on a Global Scale

“…Este mismo autor (2005) toma como referencia el trabajo de Roncagliolo (1995) y nombra a México y Brasil como exportadores netos y los más antiguos en el mercado, seguidos de nuevos exportadores como Venezuela y Argentina, y los más recientes, Colombia, Perú y Chile.…”

“The Hollywood of Latin America”

“…It is long-standing, having been identified in the early 1970s by writers concerned with international program flows, notably Nordenstreng and Varis (1974). Just as in the English-speaking world, the system of exchange is unequal, with a limited number of producers based in just a few countries dominating the trade (Roncagliolo 1995), and in spite of the similarities of language, there are nevertheless "cultural discounts" that certain nations impose against the products of others (Hoskins and Mirus 1988). With these qualifications, it can be understood as a "geolinguistic region," that is, a regional space defined by not just geographical but cultural and linguistic proximity (Sinclair 1999).…”

A multilayered transnational broadcasting television industry: The case of Latin America

“…This has resulted in the rise of some countries as media powerhouses while others have lagged behind. This industrial imbalance was described by Roncagliolo (1995) with his taxonomy of net exporters (Mexico and Brazil), new exporters (Venezuela), and net importers (U.S. Hispanic). Sa´nchez Ruiz (2000b) points out how in the 1990s, the Ibero-American televisual space was overwhelmingly dominated by only five corporations from Brazil, Mexico, Spain, and Venezuela (Globo TV, Televisa, TVE, Venevision, and RCTV), which comprised 90% of total regional exports.…”