Social imaginaries and electoral dispute: the communication strategy of the Democratic Front in 1990 and its defeat

Abstract

This article analyzes the Democratic Front (Fredemo) television campaign’s development during the 1990 presidential elections. Although the outcome of this process is widely known, this study reflects on the relevance of social imaginaries in an electoral campaign through the analysis of three advertising spots produced by Fredemo. It is argued that the social imaginaries constructed in these materials generated an ineffective symbolic exchange between the campaign’s message and the expectations of the electorate at the beginning of the last decade of the twentieth century. By relying on stereotypes and failing to adequately address the symbolic needs of the population, Fredemo’s communication strategy ultimately contributed to its electoral defeat.