Is Paris Burning?Perceptions and imagery of Chile and Argentina the press about the riots of autumn 2005

Abstract

Imagination is one of the least studied aspects in politics and in political history. Nevertheless, it is capable of nurturing visions as well as realities far beyond what it may be supossed. Even in an interconected world where information travels at almost a timeless speed, the assumptions about facts that have taken place on the other side of the planet still arise consequences and interpretations with caracteristics eminently local. The urban turmoil of the recent french’s 2005 fall has not been the exception, and has given rise to a profussion of articles and editorial columns that speculate about a posible new revolution and about the consequences it can have over Europe and the rest of the world. In this essay we attempt to decode some of this representations through a comparative reading of the chilean and argentinean press, and contrast them with the debate that has taken place in France.