The Frontier between Chile and Peru in the Bolivian Press (Tacna and Arica, 1879-1920): A Quantitative Analysis

Soto Lara J.J.; Villar Aguirre B.M.; Lozano Julián O.J.; Quispe López W.C. · Americania (2022) · DOI: 10.46661/americania.6586

Resumen

This article seeks to explain the leading role of the territories of Tacna and Arica in the Bolivian press during the War of the Pacific and its aftermath (1879-1920). From a theoretical perspective, news is evaluated as the written discourse of Bolivian nationalist ideology at the turn of the nineteenth-twentieth century, conditioned by Bolivia’s defeat in the war, the loss of its maritime territories, and the desire to recover them. Using a quantitative approach, a sample of 5.502 news items published in nine Bolivian newspapers is analyzed. The results indicate three phases during which a high volume of information and opinion was produced. Conclusions highlight the relevance of Tacna and Arica in the Bolivian press, prompting a reconsideration of Bolivian historiography and rethinking it from a transnational perspective.

Instituciones: Universidad Nacional de Trujillo; Universidad Nacional de San Agustín de Arequipa; Universidad Nacional Federico Villarreal