Symbolic Agenda and Public Opinion: A Study of Discourses on Social Policies in Brazil between 2013 and 2022

• Grant number: 23/12695-5
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Effective date (Start): June 01, 2024
• Effective date (End): May 31, 2025
• Field of knowledge: Humanities - Political Science - Public Policies
• Principal Investigator: Felipe Gonçalves Brasil
• Grantee: Laize Bezerra de Lima
• Host Institution: Escola de Artes, Ciências e Humanidades (EACH). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil
• Associated research grant: 20/07485-3 - Dynamic attention and agenda-setting in Brazil (Brazilian Policy Agendas Project), AP.JP

Abstract

The current scenario indicates the need for a Study that establishes a relationship between which the agendas and themes that the government tries to prioritize, negotiate and convince society and others political actors with regard to social policies in the period 2013-2022, with the aim of biasing public opinion. This objective can be addressed by examining the debates presidential elections linked in traditional open media and digital media, as they represent speeches of wide scope and influence, as established by Baumgartner and Jones. Like this,it is proposed to use the Comparative Agenda Project (CAP) methodology and database of Brazilian Policy Agendas (BPAP), to, through presidential electoral debates, analyze and interpret issues relating to how social policies have been and are being portrayed by presidential candidates in the context of crisis in democracy, recognizing patterns and persuasive tools applied in the context of manipulation of the symbolic agenda by the elite Brazilian politics.