Unasur's crisis by international news agencies: the reporting of the collapse of the South American regional integration by the media

Abstract

This article investigates the discourse reported by the mainstream media regarding the internal crisis that the Union of South American Nations (Unasur) has faced since 2017. This research selected and analyzed all the news published on the websites of two major international news agencies, Reuters and EFE, from April to August 2018– from the suspension of the activities of six members of the bloc to the notification of Colombia’s withdrawal from the block. Considering as a hypothesis that the way in which the media – represented in this study by the selected news agencies – reframe events through the media content can reinforce discourse against South American integration. The challenges of South America integration are complex, running through the asymmetries and the political and economic situation of the bloc's countries, and also facing the discourse disseminated by the mainstream media.