Abstract
With the first repercussions of the construction of the Belo Monte hydroelectric dam, indigenous peoples started a continuous claim making against the project. The press gave attention to both the progress of the plant’s construction and the manifestations of the Brazilian indigenous peoples in refusal of the plant. This research aimed to investigate the visibility and representation of these peoples on news websites of greater circulation in Brazil and 12 other countries. The sample consisted of 54 newspaper articles published between 2005 and 2017. Data were analyzed through Bardin’s Content Analysis (1977) and the results revealed that indigenous peoples are described as “invaders” and “less able” in the newspapers. Foreign newspapers gave more voice to indigenous peoples, for them to express their stance against the Belo Monte dam project, than Brazilian newspapers, while the latter prioritized the government’s discourse and political interests.
Keywords
Social representations; Brazilian Amazon; Content analysis; Belo Monte; Indigenous peoples