The Events and Actors of 11 September 2001

Discourse
& Society
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The Events and Actors of 11 September 2001 As Seen from Uruguay: Analysis of Daily Newspaper
Editorials
Mariana Achugar
Discourse Society 2004 15: 291
DOI: 10.1177/0957926504041021
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A RT I C L E
291
The events and actors of 11 September

2001 as seen from Uruguay: analysis of
daily newspaper editorials
M A R I A NA AC H U G A R
Discourse & Society

Copyright 2004
SAGE Publications
(London, Thousand Oaks,
CA and New Delhi)
www.sagepublications.com
Vol 15(23): 291320
10.1177/
0957926504041021
CARNEGIE MELLON UNIVERSITY
A B S T R A C T . The aim of this article is to identify some of the discursive

properties of the Uruguayan media coverage of the events of 11 September
2001 and their aftermath. The specific focus is on the construction of in- and
out-group identity through representation of the events and its participants. In
addition, the article explores how local political agendas are advanced by
arguments that connect these events to local struggles/issues. The analysis is
from a critical perspective that conceives language as a social practice
construed by, and at the same time construing, the social. This
conceptualization of the relationship between language and the social allows
us to explore the political sphere through its realizations in language. The aim
is to problematize the naturalized or hegemonic aspects of the discursive
practices identified.
KEY WORDS:
appraisal, Critical Discourse Analysis, representation of social actors,

11 September (2001)
1. Introduction
Demonization of the Other is not a sufficient basis for any kind of decent politics,
certainly not now when the roots of terror in injustice can be addressed, and the
terrorists isolated, deterred or put out of business. It takes patience and education, but
is more worth the investment than still greater levels of large-scale violence and
suffering.
(E. Said, 2001)
Through the demonization of the Other, debates over how to explain terrible
events are presented in dichotomous ways that oppose good and evil forces. The
polarization and duality of the social actors involved construct the meaning of
the events using Manichean1 symbols and apocalyptic scenarios that do not contribute in many ways to our understanding of these historical events. Carrying
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Discourse & Society 15(23)
out a critical analysis of the discourse of some of the opinions that tried to explain
the events of 11 September 2001 (hereafter 9/11) contributes to the investigation of how social mental frames and stereotypes taint our perception of new
events that challenge our previous categories for making sense of the world.
The dichotomous categories used to represent and explain the experience of
9/11 in Uruguayan newspapers connects to discourses that have been used in the
Southern Cone to explain the events that led to the 1970s dictatorships (see
Achugar, 2002; Marchesi, 2002). Both right- and left-wing social actors have
constructed an explanation of the causes of Uruguayan dictatorships that utilize
discursive strategies of differentiation and exclusion based on the demonization of
the Other. This entailed presenting in-group characteristics as victims responding
to aggressions from the Other. In the case of the events of 9/11, Uruguayan
newspapers from the Right and the Left recycled this discursive strategy and
managed to embed the discourse about this new form of terrorism into a larger
chain of representations of explanations for the dictatorship period and its
causes.
2. Critical discourse analysis approach

The focus of this analysis is on how social actors and events are represented and
how this representation contributes to the formation of in- and out-group identities in relation to a particular event, 9/11. However, it is important to point out
the dynamic and fluid nature of these representations and the identities that they
help construct. As a historically situated practice, the construction of social
meaning through discourse is a process, not solely a product (Hodge and Kress,
1993; Lemke, 1995). It is for this reason that the texts analyzed in this article
cover a short period in which this development of representations and identities
is instantiated.
The social meanings constructed are also seen as the product of an interaction between the texts and how they are interpreted or read from different
reading positions. The social meanings analyzed are not all explicitly reflected in
the linguistic choices that appear in the texts but also in the implicit connections
the texts and the readers make from the linguistic evidence available to them.
That is why in order to explore these multidimensional aspects of meaning
construction I explore the relationships between these texts and other texts (intertextuality) and the particular instantiations of social actors and events
represented in these particular texts.
According to Hodge and Kress (1993) there are two broad discursive
strategies used in ideological struggles: the manipulation of reality and the
manipulation of the orientation to reality. Those are the discursive strategies I
explore in this article: what are the ways in which the events and participants are
represented (construction of reality) and what is the evaluation of these events
and participants (orientation to reality). One of the particular realizations of
these strategies is through the construction of in- and out-group identity through
Achugar: 11 September seen from Uruguay
discursive means. The identities constructed in these texts are part of ideologies
of solidarity and power (see Hodge and Kress, 1993). This solidarity is created
through forms of discourse that blur differences, antagonisms, [and] conflicts of
interest (Hodge and Kress, 1993: 157). The power function of this ideology is
expressed in the exacerbation of difference, hostility, [and] superiority (p. 157).
The two forms of ideology mix and fuse in order to resolve the differences and
accommodate the contradictions of the competing interests that are trying to be
satisfied.
Ideologies are inscribed in discourse; as a result we can try to describe and
explain how different social groups represent and orient themselves to reality in
order to advance their own groups interests. The two ideological positions
enacted through the texts analyzed in this article represent principles that help to
explain the world and serve particular interests. In this case study, the focus is
on political ideologies expressed through opinion articles and editorials, in
newspapers that represent the conservative and progressive ends of a political
continuum. In addition, I explore how the construction of in- and out-group
identity is defined in moral terms, good versus evil, as a consequence of the
events being depicted, evaluated and represented (11 September 2001).
In order to interpret and explain the significance of the social meanings
constructed in these particular discursive practices social theories that deal with
the representation of the Other in relationship to the notion of evil are used
(Alexander, forthcoming; Benhabib, 2001). The mechanisms by which the different ideologies are articulated, with particular political narratives of the dictatorship and pre-dictatorship period, represent a dis-embedding and re-embedding in
time and space of the notion of evil as the out-groups characteristics.
The textual analysis encompasses a description of the genre, an analysis of
the representation of social actors and their evaluation and the representation of
the events. This analysis, which pays particular attention to evaluation, is based
on work done in Systemic Functional Linguistics (Martin, 2000; Martin and
Rose, 2003; Martin and White, in press; White, 2001) and in Critical Discourse
Analysis on social actors, discursive strategies and intertextuality (Fairclough,
1992; Lemke, 1995; van Dijk, 1999; van Leeuwen, 1996; Wodak, 1996). The
discourse analytical findings are interpreted in order to make explicit the relationship of particular ideological positions and their representation of evil.
3. Corpus: editorials
The corpus of this article is composed of editorials published in Uruguayan newspapers during the first two weeks after the events of 9/11 (i.e. from 12 September
to 25 September 2001). This type of text, editorials, was chosen in order to focus
the analysis on the opinions and ideologies of the coverage. The articles were
taken from two newspapers of very different style, El Pas, of a more conservative
tradition, and La Repblica from a progressive political tradition.
The corpus consists of nine editorials from El Pas and 18 from La Repblica.
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294
The difference in number is striking, since the more progressive newspaper has
twice as many articles about the events of 9/11 than the more conservative
paper.2 This might point to the fact that, for the more progressive press, these
events provide an opportunity to distinguish itself and define itself in relationship
to the other political actors in the local and international scene.
This genre is characterized by being one of the widest circulated opinion
discourses of society and by representing institutional not personal opinion (even
if they are signed by a particular author) (Bolvar, 1994; van Dijk, 1996). They
represent the opinions of the group or of several interest groups to which the
newspaper has allegiance. The schematic structure of editorials typically consists
of a summary of the event, an evaluation, and a pragmatic conclusion (van Dijk,
1996). This schematic structure represents the ideal realization of the editorial
genre, but it is important to remember that the actual instantiation of the genre
might vary, mix or omit these components.
4. Discourse analysis
The discourses triggered by the events of 9/11 can be conceived as a discursive
formation as they are a . . . set of discourses dealing with the same subject or
group of subjects, and thus building up a discursive reality which, in turn, defines
that subject or group of subjects in a given historical moment (Lavandera,
1985: 121). This discourse on 9/11 in Uruguay emerges in a traceable moment
and as a response to, an explanation about, or an expansion of other discourses.
Analysis of the linguistic resources that characterize the representation of these
events and the intertextual relations constructed through them provides a possible explanation of the different interpretations and appropriations these events
have had in order to serve particular ideological interests at the local level. At the
same time, this analysis of the linguistic and discursive characteristics of the
discursive formation of 9/11 allows us to describe the particular ways in which
language reproduces and challenges naturalized social representations about
Others.
In the textual analysis of this corpus the aim is to make overt the different
ways in which language is used to construct an explanation of the events and
its participants. The structure and process of this discursive formation emerges
by analyzing texts, which are representatives of the same genre but belong to
different ideological positions.
The textual analysis is based on work done in evaluation (Hunston and
Thompson, 2000), focusing specifically on Appraisal of events and participants
(Martin, 2000; Martin and Rose, 2003; Martin and White, in press; White, 2001)
and on the representation of causality in nominalizations (adapting concepts
from Halliday, 1994). This type of analysis is useful when exploring opinions
because it consists of the identification of relevant semantic features and their
connotation for a specific social group. In addition, analysis of the representation
of social actors provides some linguistic evidence of how social actors are
included or excluded in different forms (van Leeuwen, 1996). The exploration of

intertextuality (as used by Fairclough, 1995; Lemke, 1995) allows for the analysis of the more dynamic aspects of discursive representation such as response to
or evocation of other discourses. Furthermore, ideological aspects of discourse
are explored in the use of discourse strategies and argumentative structures
deployed in the construction of in- and out-group identity (Martn Rojo, 1995;
van Dijk, 1999; Wodak, 1996, 1997).
4.1
THE REPRESENTATION OF SOCIAL ACTORS
In the analysis of the representation of social actors it is important to focus on,

not only who is present or absent from the representation of the events, but also
the functions this expression or suppression of information has for the writer
(van Dijk, 1999). In the texts analyzed in this article one of the main functions
the social representation of actors serves is the affirmation of an ideology by
contrasting it to the opposing ideology. The discourse of difference makes a distinction between us and another group. The construction of identity is a process
of differentiation, a description of ones own group and a differentiation from
others (Wodak, 1996). This means that the identities of social actors in the texts
are mostly constructed and defined as members of groups when the emphasis is
placed on representing the Other as different, deviant or as a threat.
Both newspapers use the same discursive strategy of division into two groups,
us versus them, in order to construct a self-group identity and appropriate
the situation in order to advance the in-group agenda/ideology. However, the constitution of these groups varies even though both newspapers condemn the
events of 9/11.
The newspaper El Pas constructs the two groups by associating themselves
with the US and western civilization, which embody the values of Christian
Liberal democracies. The Other is portrayed as the unknown, the incomprehensible, the primitive or barbaric which does not support life in an open society.
This Other is emboddied in the non-western, by geographical, ethnic, religious
or moral characteristics. This group includes: Osama bin Laden, Islamic fundamentalist or extremist terrorist groups, other non-Islamic terrorist groups such
as IRA, FARC, ETA, and the local Tupamaros.3 For example:
(1) Del mismo modo, los trgicos sucesos de este negro 11 de setiembre, as como
todos los crmenes terroristas que los antecedieron en aos cercanos y los que les
seguirn porque ciertamente los brbaros que operan desde las sombras no consideran culminada su faena con esta hazaa, no deben conducir al desaliento ni a
la prdida de fe en los altos principios que constituyen el fondo intangible de nuestra
civilizacin cristiana y liberal.
In the same way, the tragic events of this black 11 September, as all the terrorist
crimes that preceded them in the recent years and the ones that will follow because
certainly the barbarians that operate from the shadows dont consider their job done
with this prowess they should not drive us to hopelessness nor to the loss of faith
in the high principles that consitute the intangible basis of our liberal and Christian
civilization. (El Pas 9/16/01)
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296
By contrast, La Repblica constructs an us that includes the peoples of the

world, or civil society who are the victims of the Other. Their categorization of
actors included in their group includes social justice principles more than
national or ethnic characterizations. The Other includes all forms of terrorism
and violence including economic violence. This newspaper includes among the
Other those social actors that represent State terrorism such as the US government and those that are directly responsible for the 9/11 events, terrorists. For
example:
(2) Los ataques del martes, que conmovieron al mundo, parecen enmarcarse en lo
que habitualmente se conoce como terrorismo. Es decir, una actividad que adems
de los estragos materiales ocasiona vctimas inocentes, absolutamente ajenas a los
intereses en juego en el conflicto, y sin responsabilidad alguna en los padecimientos
de las otras vctimas, las de la poltica imperial. Las acciones del martes 11 fueron
suicidas y asesinas pues no perseguan un objetivo blico, y como tal merecen nuestro
repudio y condena. Qu objetivo perseguan? Sin duda, un golpe efectista y simblico
en los centros vitales del gigante: el poder militar, el poder econmico y el poder
poltico, pero sin que ese golpe signifique una herida de muerte. Entendemos que
desde el punto de vista poltico se trata de una torpeza de cuyas consecuencias no ser
difcil escapar. Alguien ha ganado? El gigante ha sufrido una pequea herida
que puede exacerbar su ira; y quienes nos oponemos a su poltica tradicionalmente
imperialista no hemos ganado absolutamente nada.
The attacks of Tuesday, which moved the world, seem to be framed in what is usually
known as terrorism. This means, an activity which on top of the material destruction produces innocent victims, completely detached from the interests in the conflict and without responsibilities over the suffering of the other victims, the victims of
imperial policies. The actions of Tuesday the 11th were suicidal and assassin because
they were not after a military target, and as such they deserve our rejection and condemnation. What were their goals? Undoubtedly, they were theatrical and symbolic
strikes to the vital centers of the giant: military power, economic power and political
power, but ended up not being fatal blows. We understand that from the political point
of view it is a mistake whose consequences will be hard to escape from. Has anyone
won? The giant has suffered a little wound that could exacerbate its anger and those
of us that oppose its traditional imperialistic policies have not won anything.
(La Repblica 9/13/01)
However, the identity of these groups is not stable for either newspaper, as the
events following 9/11 unfold both newspapers redraw the lines that mark the
boundaries of the in- and out-groups. In the case of El Pas, the us is reconsidered once the US decides to answer with retaliation and revenge instead of using
the international laws and agreements to deal with the terrorists. By contrast,
La Repblica changes its evaluation of individual social actors based on their
actions. If, as events unfold, the actors show a behavior that supports the moral
argument favored by this newspaper they are included in the us. This is the case
of the Uruguayan government and former president Clinton. These two actors
appear mentioned at the beginning as members of the Other group, however,
they are re-constituted as members of the us once they criticize the response of
the US government to the events of 9/11.
Besides identifying which social actors are represented in the texts and which
are excluded, it is important to point out how the actors inscribed in these texts
appear in them. Using van Leeuwens (1996) socio-semantic inventory of ways
in which social actors can be represented through relevant linguistic categories,
it is possible to tease out some of the characteristics that constitute the in- and
out-group identities previously mentioned.
Table 1 summarizes the main characteristics utilized in the construction of
opposing groups in both newspapers.
In El Pas the us is included in representations that personalize and depersonalize social actors, but in both cases these representations contribute to the
reaffirmation of a positive self-image as members of the established and known
world. The categorizations used to represent the us-group use terms that indicate
a positive appraisal of social actors or the functionalization of them, e.g. el
mundo civilizado, pacfico y democrtico (the civilized and peaceful and democratic world), observadores norteamericanos (American observers). This type
of categorization presents social actors in terms of their moral characteristics or
their social roles that can lead the reader to construct a positive image of the
inner group. In addition, the us-group is represented as an impersonal actor
through objectivation and abstraction, e.g. la civilizacin occidental (western
civilization), el mundo occidental (the western world).
The more progressive newspaper, La Repblica, represents social actors
included in the us-group in positive terms and in a variety of ways that stress the
civil and communal aspects of the group. These characteristics make the group a
symbol of the notion of el pueblo (the people) as constructed in leftist
discourse. Using generic terms such as el mundo (the world) and collective
nouns that construct an inclusive identity, e.g. nosotros (we), the inner group
is constituted as a community that shares basic human values. In addition, this
newspaper also uses categorization through functionalization, appraisement and
classification by provenance of social actors, e.g. las vctimas inocentes (the
innocent victims), los irakes (the Iraqis). This type of representation constitutes the in-group by drawing on the common features shared by those that play
a similar social function or have positive traits that are metonymically attributed
to particular groups. The connections made in these constructions directly
oppose those drawn by the more conservative newspaper.
In the newspaper El Pas the Other appears represented as the actor or agent
responsible for terrible events and depicted in negative terms. Through a categorization that attributes a negative appraisal to the out-group the Other is identified
and vilified, e.g. los terroristas fanticos (the fanatical terrorists). When nominated, the Other is presented through names and titles used in an ironic way in
order to revert the formality and respect they convey, e.g. los jeques y prncipes
multimillonarios (the multimillionaire princes and sheiks). The tendency in the
construction of the Other is to be more precise in the identification of them and to be
overtly negative in the social roles assigned to them, e.g. los autores materiales e intelectuales de un salvajismo (the material and intellectual authors of a savagery).
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298
1. Semantic features used in the representation of in-group and out-group social actors
us group
Newspapers
El Pas
Generic
features
la gente
[people], todos
[everyone]
La Repblica el mundo [the

world], seres
humanos
[human beings]
Other group
Impersonal
features
Categories
los inocentes
[the innocent],
las vctimas
civiles [the
civilian victims]
la civilizacin
occidental [western
civilization], un
sistema de vida
occidental
[western way of life]
grupos extremistas
musulmanes
[extremist Muslim
groups], una
minora de fanticos
[a fanatical minority]
obscurantismo
[obscurantism],
los violentos
[the violent]
los jeques y prncipes

multimillonarios [the
sheiks and
multimillionaire
princes], la jihad
islmica [the Islamic
Jihad]
las vctimas
[the victims],
irakes [the
Iraqis],
los desaparecidos
[the disappeared],
el derecho
internacional
[international law]
el gran imperio del

norte [the great
empire of the North],
los poderosos [the
powerful]
el Norte [the
North], desviadas
mentes [deviant
minds]
el seor George Bush

[Mr George Bush], el
jeque Osama Bin
Laden [the sheik
Osama Bin Laden]
Categories
Impersonal
features
Nomination
TA B L E
However, representations of the Other in the newspaper La Repblica are overlexicalized and highlight the power and the leadership roles played by Others, e.g.
el gigante (the giant) or los poderosos (the powerful). This newspaper also
uses metonymy to substitute physical characteristics or spatial attributes in place
of the social actor. Another particular aspect of these representations of the
Other in this newspaper is the appeal to symbolic or allegorical representations in
order to make more evident the values these social actors embody such as el
cowboy del far west (the cowboy from the Far West), or el sheriff que le ha
tocado al mundo (the sheriff the world has been granted). In addition, through
the abstraction of values embodied by them there is an impersonal representation of the social actors that constitute the Other group, e.g. la ley del talin
(Talons law), la globalizacin del terrorismo de estado (the globalization of
state terrorism).
There are similarities in the types of choices made to represent in- and outgroup identity in both newspapers. Both weeklies present the Other as the deviant
and identify it in more direct ways. However, the differences between the conservative and progressive newspaper seem to appear in the ways they construct
the us group. For El Pas the inner group is constituted by a more generic appeal
to western civilization and its traditional representatives that reproduces the
Occident versus Orient divide. However, for La Repblica the us-group encompasses a wide variety of social actors that represent a non-traditional grouping
united by its functional role in a world divided by power differences.
4.2
EVALUATION OF SOCIAL ACTORS
In addition to investigating the socio-semantic choices that inform these identity

constructions, I explore the use of the resource of Appraisal by which writers
position their audience. There is a construction of a viewpoint from which these
social actors mentioned in the previous section are evaluated and attributed a
group of membership. According to Martin (2000) semantic resources are used
to negotiate emotions, judgments, and valuations. These semantic resources
contribute to the (re)construal of the relations of power and solidarity among
interlocutors. Through the system of Appraisal (Martin and Rose, 2003) attitudes are negotiated to tell readers how editors feel about the social actors and
their character and feelings. These evaluative traces evoke social models or scripts
that the readers use when trying to make sense of the text. These elements
contribute to the creation of a desired reading position, which of course can be
resisted by readers who do not share the ideological implications of these
discourses. It is important to state the reading position of the analyst. In my case,
being a progressive woman from Uruguay who presently lives in the United
States, my interpretation and semantic reading does not constitute the ideal
reader for either newspaper. I am reading against the grain.
According to Martin and Rose (2003) and Martin and White (in press) the
system of Appraisal is a framework for mapping attitudes as they are construed in
a text, their graduation of lexico-grammatical items and the grammatical
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300
resources writers use to position themselves in relation to the events and the
participants, i.e. engagement. My analysis focuses on the system of attitude that
involves three semantic regions covering emotion, ethics, and aesthetics. The
texts analyzed here foreground interpersonal meanings that construct attitudinal
orientations in terms of judgment and affect. Judgment is emphasized when
commenting on the behavior of social actors in moral or social terms. The system
of judgment involves the evaluation of behaviors in terms of social esteem (positive = admire; negative = criticize) or social sanction (positive = praise; negative =
condemn). As a result, judgments of social esteem involve lower or raised status
in the community of the person judged (White, 2001). Categories used to
describe the meanings constructed as social esteem include: normality (how
special?), capacity (how capable?) and tenacity (how dependable?) (Martin and
White, in press). These traits encode the features that mark an actor in reference
to the group, i.e. normal behavior in the group, behavior that denotes capacity
for that group, or behavior that demonstrates tenacity in terms of the group
standards. However, judgments of social sanction involve an evaluation in terms
of moral or ethical norms which are regulated in the culture at issue. These moral
or ethical norms are described using the following categories: veracity (how
honest?) and propriety (how far beyond reproach?) (Martin and White, in press).
This categorization gives insight into the truth value assigned to the behavior and
to the social assessment of this behavior in moral terms as proper or improper
behavior. This next example illustrates how the system of Appraisal operates at
the discourse level by giving the reader a global sense of a judgmental evaluation
of social actors.
(3) La tremenda escapada terrorista que en forma ms aleve an, y tal vez ms
prolijamente premeditada del 11 de setiembre del ao 2001 se dispar contra el
pueblo norteamericano no tiene inicialmente autora conocida, es un ataque
proveniente de una minora fanatizada y criminal, que sembr decenas de miles de
vctimas al voleo, entre gente del comn que realizaba sus tareas habituales, bien lejos
de todo apresto blico.
The tremendous terrorist escapade that in a more infamous way, and maybe more
neatly premeditated on September the 11th of the year 2001, was launched against
the American people, does not initially have a known authorship, it is an attack that
comes from a fanatical and criminal minority, that planted dozens of thousands of
victims at once, among common people that were doing their habitual chores far
away from any war pressures. (El Pas 9/13/01)
The system of affect involves encoding feelings which are a reaction to behavior,
texts or phenomena. The groups of emotions selected to categorize this type of
evaluation are:
un/happiness (emotions of sadness, anger, happiness, and love);

in/security (emotion concerned with anxiety, fear, confidence and trust);
dis/satisfaction (emotion concerned with telos ennui, displeasure, curiosity,
respect).
Emotion is grouped into these three major sets concerned with affairs of the
heart, ecosocial being, and with the pursuit of goals respectively (Martin and
White, in press). The following example underlines how the system of feelings
operates at the discourse level creating a prosody of emotion.
(4) Hoy, a dos semanas de los hechos, nuestra prediccin resulta por desgracia confirmada. Con el nico voto contrario de la legisladora Barbara Lee una luz de
sensatez entre los nubarrones de la venganza el Congreso dio su masivo apoyo a la
respuesta violenta y prepotente de Bush. Con la honroza excepcin de Uruguay, las
naciones latinoamericanas tampoco vacilaron en alinearse detrs del gran patrn,
suscribiendo la solucin blica propuesta por el amo. Pero ms all de estos hechos
ms o menos previsibles, los atentados terroristas han servido como lo apuntbamos
en el editorial citado para enardecer a los sectores conservadores ms recalcitrantes.
Quien sea que est detrs de los ataques, ha regalado un inestimable pretexto no slo
para que los halcones se lancen furibundos a la venganza, sino para que afloren
tambin en diversos mbitos de nuestro mundo poltico domstico, sentimientos
violentos.
Today, two weeks away from the events, sadly our prediction is confirmed. With only
one vote against it, the one from the legislator Barbara Lee a light of sanity among
the black clouds of vengance Congress gave its massive support to Bushes violent
and prepotent response. With the honorable exception of Uruguay, Latin American
nations didnt hesitate to align behind the big boss, subscribing to the war solution
proposed by the master. But beyond those more or less predictable facts, the terrorist
attacks have served as we pointed in the previous editorial to fuel the more
conservative sectors. Whoever is behind these attacks, has given an invaluable pretext
not only for the hawks to angrily throw themselves to avengance, but also for the
flourishing of violent feelings around our domestic political world. (La Repblica
9/25/01)
The inscription or evocation of attitudes towards different social actors in terms

of instutionalized emotions judgments or as more emotive semantic
constructions feelings constructs interpersonal meanings in the texts that
present these actors through a particular perspective that reinforces ideologies of
solidarity among certain groups and ideologies of power by creating differences
among other groups.
Table 2 summarizes the appraisal of the different groups in each of the
newspapers.
It is interesting to note that the predominance of terms that encode moral or
emotional aspects of the groups relates to the form of argumentation favored
by each of the newspapers. As the chart shows, El Pas represents the Other as
experiencing emotions of happiness in opposition to our unhappiness. Also the
Other is evaluated as abnormal, irrational, immoral, and unreliable. Unlike that
representation the evaluation of the Other in La Repblica presents them as
the experimenters of dissatisfaction and insecurity. But also, like the appraisal of
the Other in El Pas, the social evaluation of the Other in La Repblica judges them
as irrational, abnormal, immoral and unbelievable.
For El Pas the Other is not only evaluated as unethical and unlawful, but also
301
2. Appraisal of in- and out-groups in both newspapers
302
TA B L E
Judgment
Social actors
Social esteem
Social Sanction
Affect
Daily newspaper
El Pas
us
(i.e. the right, the USA,
western civilization)
Normality (+)
(e.g. comn [common],
tradicional [traditional],
emblema [emblematic],
la mayora [the majority])
Veracity (+)
(e.g. racional [rational],
abierta [open])
Insecurity (experienced as a
reaction, e.g. estremecimiento
de horror [shudder of horror],
miedo [fear], confusin
[confusion], temor [intense
fear], incertidumbre
[uncertainty])
Capacity (+)
(e.g. superpotencia
[superpower], triunfo y
xito [triumph and
success], la ms poderosa
[the most powerful])
them
(i.e. extreme terrorists,
local terrorists, islamic
groups)
Propriety (+)
(e.g. democrtica
[democratic], libre [free],
civilizado [civilized], smbolo
de los ideales [symbol of ideals] Unhappiness
pacfico [peaceful],
(experienced as a reaction),
tolerancia [tolerance])
e.g. horror [horror],
dolor [pain])
Capacity (+)
Veracity ()
(e.g. expertos [experts],
(e.g. intoletant, autocratic,
silenciosos poderes [silent face less, traitors,
powers], efectivos [effective]) clandestinos [clandestine])
Capacity ()
(e.g. demencia [insanity],
irracionales [irrational])
Propriety ()
(e.g. demonios [demons],
asesinos [assassins],
criminales [criminal],
Normality ()
desalmados [soulless],
(e.g. extremistas [extremist], anacrnico [anachronic],
minora [minority],
inhumanos [inhuman])
brbaros [barbaric]
Tenacity (+)
(e.g. dedicados [dedicated],
persistentes [persistent],
Happiness
(experienced with intention),
e.g. satisfaccin
[satisfaction], lograr su
objetivo [achievement],
celebran [celebrate])
Texts
fanticos [fanatics],
fundamentalistas
[fundamentalist])
Daily newspaper
La Repblica
us
(i.e. the Left, the people,
common people, civil
society)
Veracity (+)
(e.g. verdadero [truthful])
Propriety (+)
(e.g. pacfico [peaceful],
justo [fair], legal [lawful])
Insecurity
(experienced as a reaction,
e.g. aprehensin [worry],
indefensos [defenseless],
miedo [fright] )
Unhappiness
e.g. tristeza [unhappiness],
desecho [broken] )
Tenacity (+)
(e.g. valiente
[courageous])
Dissatisfaction
e.g. repudio [disgust])
them
(i.e. state terrorism,
terrorism)
Capacity (+)
(e.g. poderoso [powerful],
gigante [giant], grande
[great], lder [leader],
superpotencia
[superpower],
profesionalidad
[professionalism])
Capacity ()
(e.g. desviadas mentes
[insane])
Propriety ()
(e.g. imperialista
[imperialistic], ilegal
[unlawful], arrogante
[arrogant], opresivo
[oppressive])
Dissatisfaction
(experienced with intention,
e.g. rabia [rage], anger, odio
[hate], contempt)
Insecurity
(produced as a reaction,
e.g. amenaza [threat],
vulnerabilidad [vulnerability],
inseguridad [insecurity])
303
Tenacity (+)
(e.g. fundamentalistas
[fundamentalist])
Veracity ()
(e.g. poco creble
[unconvincing],
propagandistico
[propagandistic])
Normality (+)
(e.g. comn [common],
estndar [standard],
la mayora [the majority],
extraordinario
[extraordinary])
304
as evil since it enjoys the suffering of us. The Other is driven by hatred towards
western Christian society. This is juxtaposed to a self-definition in essentialist
terms. By contrast, the Other for La Repblica is judged mostly in terms of their
commitment to social norms and regulations. This foregrounding of social norms
and the social contract goes hand in hand with the depiction of us as civil
society and defenders of international law.
As the earlier analysis shows both newspapers represent the in- and outgroup identity in different ways. For El Pas, the conservative newspaper, the
in-group represents our civilization and our moral values; in opposition the
out-group is the Other, the abject, or the different. This construction of identity is
based on a hegemonic view that does not tolerate deviance from the status quo.
For La Repblica, the progressive newspaper, the in-group is constituted of those
who share the same principles, but this us is not defined in terms of national or
moral grounds. In this newspaper the out-group is constructed in political terms
as those who do not share our principles and objectives. These differences are
consistent with the ideologies of the newspapers.
4.3
REPRESENTATION OF THE MUSLIM OTHER
Discourse analysis on the representation of the Other has made evident the
predominance of stereotype and outright racism in public representations of
these groups within mainstream media (e.g. Riggins, 1997). Decades of media
research in Europe and North America have consistently shown that ethnic
minority groups tend to be portrayed negatively and stereotypically in the news,
if they have active or passive access to the media at all. (van Dijk, 1988: 255). In
the Uruguayan press this also seems to be the case.
Studies of the representation of the Muslim Other in western cultures
have revealed a set of institutionalized information about Islam (Karim, 1997;
Said, 1978, 1997) that work as social schema to produce or interpret any
discourse about Islam in the West. Some of the most typical referential bases for
interpretation are:
reducing Islam to fundamentalism;

presenting Islam as the post-Cold War Other;
qualifying terrorism as Islamic;
presenting the US and Israel as representing our side in the contested site of
the Middle East.
According to Karim (1997) violence, lust, avarice and barbarism seem to be

the primary western topoi of Islam.
These stereotypical referential biases appear as part of the images used to
represent Muslims in these newspapers, especially in the more conservative one.
The more progressive newspaper tries to go beyond these stereotypes, but sometimes unwillingly falls back on them.
In the more conservative newspaper, El Pas, Muslims as social actors appear
mentioned in negative terms that emphasize violence and barbarism in

opposition to the positive ones that construct the western identity.
For example:
(5) En la actualidad, el horror que buscan infundir los autores materiales e intelectuales de un salvajismo como el del martes pasado, es la concrecin de la lucha del
oscurantismo contra la libertad y la civilizacin.
Nowadays, the horror that the material and intellectual authors of a savage event
such as that of last Tuesday are attempting to create is the concrete manifestation of
the fight of darkness against liberty and civilization. (El Pas, 9/14/01)
(6) Si los talibanes, los fundamentalistas, los terroristas fanticos e irracionales, los
jeques y prncipes multimillonarios y autocrticos forman parte importante de esa
civilizacin en la que la mitad de la especie humana o sea, las mujeres est
sometida a una degradante condicin de cuasi esclavitud, menester es que quienes
quieren persistir en esos extravos anacrnicos no envenenen ni alteren la paz, la
tolerancia, la racionalidad, la libertad y la convivencia democrtica que imperan en la
civilizacin occidental. Y no slo en esta.
If the Taliban, the Fundamentalists, the fanatical and irrational terrorists, the
multimillionaire and autocratic sheiks and princes form an important part of that
civilization in which half of the human species that is women is subjected to a
denigrating quasi slavery condition, it is the matter for those who want to persist in
those anachronistic deviances not to poison or alter the peace, tolerance, rationality,
liberty or democratic living that are prevalent in Western civilization. (El Pas,
9/16/01)
These examples illustrate the association of violence, backwardness and barbarism with an Islamic civilization that seems to have certain unifying characteristics in spite of the apparent diversity of its composition. Listing a group of
social actors represented in terms of their functional characteristics and appraisal
together with the comment that qualifies the opposition of Islamic civilization to
western civilization and others, the writer tries to present this proposition as fair
or non-discriminatory statement based on facts. However, the result is that
Islam appears monolithic and hostile.
The more progressive newspaper, La Repblica, presents a more complex representation of the Muslim Other. Through the citation of Muslim authorities
and through some references to the vicissitudes of particular groups within the
Islamic world, this newspaper challenges the preconceptions of a monolithic
and irrationally violent Other.
For example:
(7) Brutal. Tan brutal y slo comparable con el dolor de padres irakes que vieron
masacrar a sus nios en las escuelas, sus ancianos en los hospicios y a sus enfermos
en hospitales bombardeados por misiles de largo alcance en la ciudad abierta de
Bagdad.
Brutal. So brutal and only comparable to the pain of Iraqi parents that saw the
massacre of their children in schools, their elderly in hospices and their sick in
hospitals bombarded by long range missiles in the open city of Baghdad. (La Repblica,
9/15/01)
305
306

(8) Ante estos brulotes, imposible no concordar con las expresiones de Riad
Abdelkarim, del Consejo de Relaciones Islmicas con los Estados Unidos: Culpar a los
musulmanes o a la religin islmica sera tan ridculo como culpar a la cristiandad
por los insultos a las colegialas catlicas de Belfast, o condenar al judasmo por las
transgresiones israeles contra los palestinos.
In light of these brutal attacks it is impossible not to agree with the expressions of
Riad Abdelkarim from the Council of USIslamic Relations: To blame Muslims or
Islamic religion would be as ridiculous as blaming Christianity for the insults to
Catholic schoolgirls in Belfast, or condemning Judaism for Israeli transgressions
against Palestinians. (La Repblica, 9/15/01)
Muslims are presented in their humanity and complexity and not in the same
bag as the perpetrators of the terrorist acts who happen to be a minority of
the people considered Muslim. However, there is an instance in one of the
editorials written for this newspaper where there is a reversion to the stereotypical
portrayals of Islam without questioning them.
For example:
(9) Lo hemos dicho y no inventamos la plvora por ello, que si no hubiese petrleo
debajo de sus arenales, el Medio Oriente sera una regin pacfica ms en el mundo
dedicada a sus dtiles, sus camellos y sus rabes recorriendo sus dunas. No pasara
nada.
We have said it, and we are not inventing anything new by doing that, that if there
werent oil under the sands of the Middle East that would be another peaceful region
in the world dedicated to its dates, its camels and its Arabians traveling across its
dunes. (La Repblica 9/19/01)
This representation tries to criticize the myth of associating the region with
intrinsic violence, but it does it by essentializing the region as a place of oil, dates,
camels and nomads.
Regarding the political alignment in the construction of self-identity, El Pas
follows the traditional grouping with the US and Israel in presenting our-side in
the contested site of the Middle East.
For example:
(10) Los muertos en Manhattan, por otra parte, han cado por la misma intolerancia
por la cual en Israel se produjeron siete muertes y sesenta heridos, slo durante el mes
de mayo pasado, en un centro comercial de Kanion Asharon y en la franja de Gaza;
y los diecinueve muertos y ochenta heridos, la mayora de ellos jvenes de entre 18 y
20 aos, convertidos en el mes de junio en el saldo de otro atentado suicida dirigido
contra una discoteca de Tel Aviv; y del que tuvo lugar el 16 de julio de 2001 en una
estacin de tren al Sur de Haifa, en donde murieron dos mujeres; o del que acaba
de ocurrir hace pocos das en una pizzera del centro de Jerusaln, dejando como
mrtires inocentes otros diecisiete muertos y ochenta heridos.
The dead in Manhattan, on the other hand, have fallen for the same intolerance that
has produced seven deaths and seventy injured in Israel during the last month only,
in the shopping center of Kaninon Asharon and in the Gaza strip and the nineteen
dead and eighty injured, mostly youth between 18 and 20 years old, transformed into
the death toll of the month of June as a result of the suicide bombing against a disco

in Tel Aviv and of the one that took place on June 16, 2001 in a train station South of
Haifa, where two women died, or of the one that just happened a few days ago in a
pizzeria in Downtown Jerusalem leaving as innocent martyrs another seventeen dead
and eighty injured. (El Pas, 9/17/01)
It is interesting to note how in this example there is a reconfiguration of the inner

group identity by expanding the category of victim to the Israelis that have died
as a consequence of the conflict between Palestine and Israel. In this way by
establishing similarities between the different social actors it creates links
between separate historical events in order to support its political agenda with
respect to the Middle East conflict.
For La Repblica the picture of the contested Middle East region is more
complex and this is shown through the portrayal of a diversity of opinions on the
issue in the Jewish side and by being critical of US policy in the region.
For example:
(11) Y volvamos a tomar prestado el pensamiento recientemente expresado la semana
pasada en Le Monde, que expropiamos de Internet, escrito por el presidente del
Consejo Representativo de las Instituciones Judas de Francia, por su presidente de
Honor, Tho Klein, en forma de carta al premier Ariel Sharon.
La carta es memorable. Dice as en sus partes esenciales: Yo me dirijo pblicamente a
usted, jefe del gobierno de Israel porque he llegado a la conclusin de que es preciso
decir, alto y fuerte, que la poltica de rplica de Israel ha alcanzado su punto extremo
de absurdidad. No se trata de una poltica que implica un pensamiento y un objetivo
reconocido posible, sino de una bagarre trgica donde desgraciadamente todos
nuestros valores morales estn en trance de ensombrecerse. S; esta accin es absurda
porque no se hace otra cosa que alimentar la pasin y el odio, porque ella moviliza
a la poblacin palestina en torno de aquellos que consideran sus combatientes, mientras que entretiene a la poblacin israel con la ilusin de una falsa seguridad.
Cundo admitir usted que son los tanques y los misiles israeles los que agitan el
viento de una revuelta?.
Once again we borrow a thought recently expressed in last weeks Le Monde, that was
taken from the Internet, written by the president of the Representative Council of
Jewish Institutions in France, by its honorary President Theo Klein, in the form of a
letter to Ariel Sharon. The letter is memorable. It says in its essential parts: I am
addressing you publicly, leader of the Israeli government because I have reached the
conclusion that it is necessary to say, loudly and strongly, that Israels policy of reply
has reached its extreme absurdity. It is not a policy that implies a possible thought or
objective recognized, but a tragic bagarre where unfortunately our moral values are
in the process of being darkened. Yes, this action is absurd because it is not doing anything else but feeding poison and hate, it mobilizes the Palestinian population around
those that are considered its warriors, while it entertains the Israeli population with
the illusion of a false security. When will you admit that it is the Israeli tanks and
missiles that encourage a revolt? (La Repblica, 9/12/01)
(12) La nica defensa verdadera contra un ataque externo sera un esfuerzo serio y
valiente por encontrar soluciones polticas a los conflictos nacionales e ideolgicos
que afecten a EEUU y al mundo. Aunque no existe ninguna prueba, se maneja que el
ataque del martes tiene origen en la lucha entre israeles y palestinos.
307
308

Si fueran ciertas esas especulaciones, a EEUU le habra tocado su parte en esta
tragedia del Medio Oriente, sobre la que, durante 30 aos, se ha negado a realizar un
esfuerzo realmente imparcial.
The only real defense against an external attack would be a serious and courageous
effort to find political solutions to national and ideological conflicts that could affect
the US and the world. Although there isnt any evidence, it is being said that the
attacks of Tuesday have their origin in the fight between Israelis and Palestinians.
If these speculations were true, the US would have received its share of this
Middle Eastern tragedy in which for the past 30 years it has avoided to make a truly
impartial effort. (La Repblica, 9/14/01)
Another relevant aspect in discourse representation is the inclusion or exclusion

of social actors. A focus on how these newspapers include or exclude Middle
Eastern social actors can provide some information about the focus of attention
these actors receive when presenting information about the 9/11 events. The
frequency of occurrences in the articles of Uruguayan national dailies of Arab
groups (percentage of total number of tokens referring to Arabs or issues related
to them)4 shows a difference between the ways in which each newspaper
represents the Muslim Other.
In a total of 27 newspaper articles with 21,274 words there are few that
appear to be directly referring to the Muslim Other (only 233). However, it is
interesting to note the different ways in which the newspapers represent this
Other. The most frequently used general terms are Arab (14 tokens) and Islamic
(11 tokens). The progressive newspaper uses the first lexical category, Arab
(13 of the 14 occurrences) and the conservative newspaper uses the Islamic
category (6 of the 11 occurrences). This would signal the tendency to encode
stereotypical attributes to this group of social actors. However, it is important to
note that La Repblica, the progressive newspaper, uses a wider range of terms to
refer to the Arab community, which includes: Afghans, Talibans, Palestinians,
Iraqis, and Libyans. There is also more identification of individual actors in the
progressive newspaper (35 tokens, in contrast to the 2 tokens in the conservative
newspaper). Among the individual actors identified are: Osama Bin Laden,
Saddam Hussein, Arafat, Kadhafi, Taieb Baccuche5 and Riad Abdelkarim.6 These
individuals represent a wide range of political positions and reputations.
By contrast, the most frequently used term by El Pas is terrorist and its
related words (41 tokens of 59 occurrences). This word is used metonymically in
place of the Arab world. The characteristics of the few aggressors are extended
to the whole group of geographic or cultural origin.
The less stereotypical portrayal of the Muslim Other on the part of the progressive newspaper is not only the product of an effective deconstruction of presupposed
ideas about Islam, even if these social actors appear mentioned they are presented
as part of a more diverse selection. Considering the difference in the number of
articles (9 from El Pas and 18 from La Repblica) references to the Muslim Other
appear less generalized, and when loaded terms such as terrorist are used it is often
in conjunction with hedges or citing the oppositions view on the subject.
For example:
(13) No es desde luego as como se estn percibiendo las cosas desde la ptica oficial
del Estado norteamericano. Ms bien se trata de llevar adelante la guerra contra el
terrorismo y sus aliados y con insistencia se alude al rgimen talibn instalado en
Afganistn como el blanco inminente para una fulminante accin militar.
It is obviously not like this that things are being perceived from the official view of
the North American state. Moreover it is about carrying forward the war against
terrorism and its allies and with insistence the Taliban regime installed in
Afghanistan is alluded as the imminent target of a fulminating military action.
(La Repblica 9/15/01)
(14) Por supuesto eso lo descuentan Afganistn, pas que presuntamente brinda
refugio al jeque Osama bin Laden, posiblemente el jefe de los grupos terroristas que
provocaron las matanzas en Nueva York y Washington.
Of course that is taken for granted Afghanistan, a country that supposedly offers
refuge to the sheik Osama bin Laden, possibly the boss of the terrorist groups that
caused the killings in New York and Washington. (La Repblica, 9/19/01)
The probability or likelihood of being certain of who the actors responsible for the
events are varies as time goes by. The unmarked social actor to whom responsibility is attributed is the Muslim Other and as time passes that is no longer
questioned in either newspaper. Even though the left-wing newspaper expresses
the unlikelihood of assigning blame with certainty and provides alternative
interpretations to the main narrative presented (see Extracts 13 and 14); as time
goes by the main line of argumentation is assimilated. Bin Laden starts to appear
more frequently as the culprit of those actions and his responsibility is no longer
questioned.
It is also interesting to note that besides Afghanistan, which is a country
directly involved in the war following the events of 9/11, Israel appears represented with a relative high frequency in both newspapers in comparison with
other countries or nationalities (13 tokens refer to Israel in contrast to 9 tokens
that index Afghanistan the second most mentioned specific group). This may be
explained by the links established between the events of 9/11 and the situation of
conflict in the Middle East. In El Pas Israel appears as an example of places that
suffer similar terrorist attacks. In La Repblica this country appears mostly in
relation to US policy in the Middle East and its connections to the events of 9/11.
4.4
REPRESENTATION OF THE EVENTS OF
11
SEPTEMBER
2001
The representation of the events in both newspapers projects a view of the whole
situation and the aspects each side wants to highlight of these events. The different lexico-grammatical choices the writers made to represent the events of 9/11
reflect options on how to establish a relationship of detachment or affective
involvement with the events and their participants. The lexical items that refer to
those events were identified and later categorized according to how they help
construct a view of the event from an evaluative perspective, from a causal
perspective, and/or from a neutral perspective.
309
310

TA B L E
3. Representation of the events of 9/11

Nominalizations
El Pas
La Repblica
Causal
Non-causal
affect
judgment
appreciation
neutral
9
15
3
2
11
4
14
17
5
5
4
4
40
38
Causality was explored through nominalizations that implied the transformation of a verb that requires an agent into a noun, for example, los ataques del
martes [Tuesdays attacks]. The lexical structures that constructed the events in
terms of appraisal expressed a more subjective or empathetic view, for example,
El brbaro atentado terrorista del martes 11 [the barbarian terrorist attack of
Tuesday 11]. There were also attempts to present the events as objective facts,
for example, el episodio [the episode]. Table 3 summarizes this analysis.
The main differences between these newspapers in the representation of the
events seems to be the following:
1
La Repblica uses more nominalizations that express causality; that is the

event is encoded as being caused to happen but there is no clear marking of
who the agent is. This demotion of the agent allows the construction of an
argument based on the judgment of events per se without considering where
they are coming from, which seems to represent for this newspaper a more
balanced or fair approach to terrorism in all of its forms. For example,
(15) 20 mil civiles indefensos fueron vctimas ayer de un atentado coordinado y
suicida de una magnitud jams conocida en tiempos de paz en la historia de la
humanidad.
20 thousand defenseless civilians were victims yesterday of a coordinated and
suicidal attack of an unknown magnitude in human history during times of peace.
(La Repblica 9/12/01).
This example illustrates how the events are constructed as happening and
described through epithets that point to the grade of importance or uncommonness without pointing directly to the agents responsible for them. The actions and
their results are what are fore-grounded.
2
El Pas uses more evaluative terms to encode this experience. There is a

predominance of lexical items that construct an appraisal of the event in
terms of affect and judgment. This means there is an emphasis on constructing a narrative that appeals to the readers emotions and moral values. For
example,
(16) Ahora bien, luego de la jornada de barbarie del pasado martes, de la que fue
vctima la poblacin civil de los Estados Unidos, que asombr y horroriz a miles de
millones de seres humanos. . .

Well then, after last Tuesdays day of barbarism, of which the civilian population of
the US was victim, that astonished and horrified thousands of millions of human
beings. . (El Pas 9/16/01)
This example shows how the events are represented in terms of their social value
as well as in terms of the emotional reaction they produced on others.
La Repblica also uses extensively lexical items that denote judgment to construct the events of 9/11, but there is very little appeal to emotions. Emotions
appear more fore-grounded when developing an argument against state terrorism as impersonated by the US government. For example,
(17) Es cierto que se trata de la primera vez que la gran potencia sufre en carne propia
en su territorio y en su poblacin lo que ha hecho sufrir a otros pueblos del
planeta. Es cierto, tambin, que de alguna manera EEUU est cosechando lo que
sembr: odio y destruccin. No olvidemos que desde fines del siglo XIX la gran nacin
del Norte se caracteriz por su poltica imperialista, la expansion territorial a
expensas de Mxico; Theodore Roosevelt y su poltica del garrote; las intervenciones
desembozadas en Puerto Rico, Panam, Cuba, Nicaragua, Repblica Dominicana,
Grenada, Vietnam; las innumerables acciones de la CIA para desestabilizar a
gobiernos legtimos, propiciar golpes de estado y apoyar regimenes dictatoriales; el
adiestramiento de torturadores y la formacin de profesionales de la muerte.
Precisamente el martes 11 de setiembre, todos recordamos acongojados el golpe de
Pinochet con el respaldo de la CIA, y la muerte de Allende.
It is true that it is the first time that the big superpower suffers in its own skin its
territory and its population what it has made other peoples of the world suffer. It is
also true that in a way the US is reaping what it sowed: hate and destruction. Let us
not forget that since the end of the XIX century the big nation of the North has
characterized itself by its imperialistic policies, its territorial expansion at the expense
of Mexico; Theodore Roosevelts big stick policy; the unapologetic interventions in
Puerto Rico, Panama, Cuba, Nicaragua, Dominican Republic, Grenada, Vietnam; the
uncountable actions of the CIA to destabilize legitimate governments, to produce
coup dtats and to support dictatorial regimes; the training of torturers and the
education of professionals of death. It was precisely on Tuesday September the 11th
that all of us sadly remember the coup detat of Pinochet with the CIA backing and
the death of Allende. (La Repblica 9/13/01)
This example illustrates how emotions and affective reactions are associated with
the US and the consequences of its actions. Even though there is an acknowledgement of the suffering of the US, it is contrasted with a long enumeration of
emotive reactions triggered by US actions. As a result, the events of 11 September
2001 appear to be minimized in importance in comparison to the rest.
The representation of the events contributes to the reaffirmation of each
newspapers major argumentative strategy that presents opposing views on
the meaning and the way these events should be read. The same events are
contextualized and read in relation to different discourses. This is the topic of the
next section on intertextuality.
4.5
INTERTEXTUALITY AND THE REPRESENTATION OF THE EVENTS
These representations of the events constructed by both newspapers evoke other
311
312
social narratives and try to establish some kind of continuity with other historical events in order to explain the meaning of the events of 9/11. The ways in
which these other narratives are brought into the text can be through explicit
reference or through formal or stylistic categories, manifest intertextuality or
interdiscursivity in Faircloughs (1992) terms. This textual analysis explores
some of the forms of manifest intertextuality; that is how specific texts are
brought in within a text.
In this opportunity the focus is placed on two manifest forms of intertextuality: comparison and reported speech (discourse representation in Faircloughs
terminology). The first strategy is used as a form of argumentation and as a way
of guiding the reader on how to interpret the events by connecting them to
his/her available social mental models. This form of intertextuality helps to
establish an ideal reader position. The second strategy is used in order to validate
and authorize the newspaper rendition and interpretation of the events. By incorporating the opinions of different authorized voices the editorial legitimates its
position. It is important to note that what is considered a valid and authoritative
source for each newspaper is different.
Both newspapers use comparison as a form of framing the events of 9/11
within a particular ideology that of power or that of solidarity. The comparison serves to highlight the defining characteristics of the events in each of the
narratives constructed in the newspapers. By listing other examples of events
that share the most salient aspect of 9/11, comparison works to support the main
arguments presented by the newspapers.
For La Repblica the events of 9/11 are equivalent to those committed by
the US government. The terrorism suffered by the US is equivalent to the one
perpetrated by the US in the form of state terrorism. This narrative focuses
on how any kind of abuse of power is to be condemned. Some of the events
compared to 9/11 are:
nuclear attacks on Nagasaki and Hiroshima;

attacks with napalm in Vietnam;
illegal activities by the CIA to destabilize legitimate governments;
bombing raids on Iraq and Sudan.
By contrast, El Pas compares the events of 9/11 to historical landmarks in

western history and to other actions of barbarians. This comparison tries to
foreground the importance of the events and the irrationality, barbarism, and
malice of the people who committed these acts. Some of the events compared to
9/11 are:
the fall of the Berlin Wall;

Pearl Harbor;
actions of Hitler and Stalin;
terrorist attacks and groups in other countries (ETA in Spain, FARC in
Colombia, IRA in Ireland, etc.);
Japanese kamikazes.
A relationship of identity and attribution is established through comparison of

events. This type of relation brings out the act of judgment and valuation of the
events within a larger ideological frame.
The other strategy highlighted here is the use of reported speech as a source
of authorizing the groups discourse. Both newspapers use direct quotation or
paraphrases of authorities to legitimate their interpretation of the events. In
El Pas reported speech is used to confirm information and to present new
information that supports the institutional line of argumentation.
For example,
(18) Hace un par de meses, la BBC de Londres inform que la Jihad Islmica haba
abierto una escuela para mrtires donde se enseaba a los jvenes no slo cmo
matar, sino tambin cmo morir, impartindoles en ella cursos sobre los ataques
suicidas, elevados a la categora del mayor y ms eficaz modo de lucha.
A couple of months ago, the BBC of London informed that the Islamic Jihad had
opened a school for martyrs where youth were taught not only how to kill, but also
how to die, conducting courses about suicide attacks, which were elevated to the
major and most effective way of fighting. (El Pas, 9/17/01)
Some of the sources cited include: Diderot, Carlos Vaz Ferreira (a Uruguayan
philosopher), Luis Arcos Ferrand (a Uruguayan constitutional lawyer), the BBC,
J.F. Kennedy, Dr Jorge Battle (the Uruguayan president).
In La Repblica besides using reported speech to supplement or illustrate the
main argument the articles use it to deconstruct the oppositions argument. This
means that there is a recontextualization of the texts brought in where irony and
negation have an important role.
For example,
(19) Un comentario interesante realiza el filsofo espaol Fernando Savater despus
de sealar que con la globalizacin la humanidad ha quedado sin tribunales a los que
recurrir contra los abusos, sin garantas ni derechos reconocidos a todos, proteccin
social e instituciones democrticas de alcance similar a las ambiciones econmicas
de los grupos multinacionales, . . . un mundo en el que la codicia no tiene fronteras
pero la justicia las encuentra a cada paso, alude al terrorismo patrocinado por un
multimillonario fantico es tambin el triunfo siniestro de la sacrosanta iniciativa
privada.
An interesting commentary is made by the Spanish philosopher Fernando Savater
after pointing out that with globalization humanity has been left without any
tribunals in which to report against abuses, without warranties or recognized rights
for everyone, nor social protection or democratic institutions of similar reach to the
economic ambitions of multinational groups. . . a world where ambition has no
borders but where justice finds it in its every step, alludes to terrorism supported by
a fanatic multimillionaire is also the sinister triumph of the sacred private initiative.
(La Repblica, 9/15/01)
Some of the authorities cited are: Saddam Hussein, the Pope of 1209, Edgar
Morin (a Jewish humanist), Taieb Baccuche (a Tunisian intellectual), Federico
Mayor Zaragoza (ex director general of UNESCO), Socrates, George Bush, Jorge
313
314
Batlle (the Uruguayan president), William Pfaff (military analyst), Riad

Abdelkarim (representative of the Council for Islamic and US relations), Noam
Chomsky, Susan Sontag.
As events unfold the type of intertextuality used changes and these strategies
of comparison and reported speech are used to introduce the discourse of other
local social actors who help make the case of finding similarities between the
events of 9/11 and Uruguayan recent history. El Pas brings in the voices of
certain political actors such as the Minister of Education and the comments of
former Tupamaros to support the construction of a narrative that establishes a
parallelism between the actions of the armed guerrilla in the 1960s to the events
that occurred in the US on 9/11.
For example,
(20) Le asiste plena razn al ministro Mercader cuando reclama ms militancia en la
lucha contra el terrorismo. Al hacerlo as, no est pensando slo en los escenarios
internacionales a los que no olvida, por supuesto, ni minimiza sino en los locales,
en los estrictamente locales.
En tiempos de tanta retrica, de tantos discursos floridos, se hace imperioso condenar
al terrorismo extremo pero siempre y cuando se adopte una actitud vigilante y
combativa, preventiva y enrgica, contra todas sus manifestaciones en el plano
nacional.
Total reason assists minister Mercader when he demands more militancy in the fight
against terrorism. In doing so he is not only thinking about international scenarios
which he doesnt forget, of course but to the local and strictly local.
In the times of so much rhetoric and so many pompous speeches, it is imperative to condemn extreme terrorism but also to adopt a vigilant and combative attitude, preventive
and energetic against all of its manifestations at the national level. (El Pas, 9/25/01)
It is interesting to note how this argument emerges in the middle of the period
analyzed for this article, since in the first editorial written after 9/11 the writer
explicitly mentions the fact that it is hard for Uruguayans to understand something like this because they have never suffered anything similar.
For example,
(21) Puede ser relativamente asordinado el efecto que la catstrofe de ayer produce en
observadores de pases como el Uruguay, que se siente al margen de ciertas emergencias ms o menos blicas del mundo de hoy, pero quizs la impresin sea mucho ms
intensa en otros pases que han experimentado en carne viva los efectos del terror o la
violencia armada, como sucedi en Tibet, en Israel, o en Jordania desde los aos 50,
en Vietnam desde los 60, en Afganistn desde los 70, en Panam a fines de los 80, en
Timor o Sri Lanka en los 90.
The effect that yesterdays catastrophe produces could be relatively silenced in
observers of countries such as Uruguay, that feels at the margin of certain more or
less war emergencies in todays world, but maybe the impression is much more
intense in countries that have experienced in their own skin the effects of terror or
armed violence, like what happened in Tibet, in Israel, or in Jordan since the 1950s,
in Vietnam since the 1960s, in Afghanistan since the 1970s, in Panama at the end of
the 1980s, in Timor or Sri Lanka in the 1990s. (El Pas, 9/12/01)
This change in the interpretation of the events is an indication of a change in the

political strategy through which the ideology advanced by the Right works. In the
words of La Repblica, there is an attempt on the part of the Right to nationalize
the conflict to reap political benefits from it. As a result, the progressive
newspaper reacts to the comparison established between the local Left and
international terrorism by denouncing it as mere political maneuvering and
questioning the ethical grounds of those who make those comparisons.
For example,
(22) Fcil es advertir el inaceptable propsito de equiparar de alguna manera
manifestaciones como los llamados escraches nada menos que con los kamikazes
responsables de los atentados en Washington y Nueva York.
Se confunde el analista al asimilar ambas cosas pues nada en comn tienen. Pero no
intente confundir al lector incauto con artilugios pretendidamente sutiles.
Se podr discrepar con los escraches,7 se podr cuestionar su eficacia poltica, se los
podr condenar, lo que resulta errneo y ticamente reprobable es catalogarlos como
terrorismo.
It is easy to realize the unacceptable purpose of equating in any form manifestations
such as those called escraches with the kamikazes responsible for the attacks in
Washington and New York.
The analyst is confused in assimilating both things for they have nothing in common.
But dont try to confuse the inattentive reader with supposedly subtle skills. One
might disagree with the escraches, one might question their political efficiency, one
might condemn them, but it is mistaken and ethically reproachable to label them
terrorism. (La Repblica, 9/25/01)
This debate over the meanings of 9/11 recontextualizes them in light of issues
that are relevant in the contemporary Uruguayan political arena: resolution of
human rights violations committed during the last military dictatorship and the
role of the Left as the new strong political actor to contend with. This same
discursive strategy has been found in other partisan discourses of the River Plate
interpreting the meaning of the events of 9/11 (Marchesi, 2002).
[. . ] discourses about the past have a performative effect in the interpretation of newly
emerging historic moments. To a certain extent we can say that the disputes over the
meaning of September 11 were impacted heavily by the memories created within the
region several decades earlier. Although there is an enormous distance between the conflicts in the Southern Cone during the 1970s and what began with September 11th, some
actors intentionally sought to build connections in order to legitimate their past behavior in this new present. They seek to identify the old and the new enemy as synonymous
with the terms terrorism or imperialism, and try to demonstrate the validity and the
necessity of certain methods like torture or political violence (which had been very questioned in the democratization processes) to achieve their political objectives. Basically,
what seems to have notably expanded is the range of discursive possibilities arising from
the attacks. Some things that were previously said with embarrassment or reserve are
now affirmed in a much more blatant manner. In the context of a situation loaded with
heavy drama and drawn out through the media, opinions are once again being
expressed publicly that until now had been reserved for the private sphere. (pp. 56)
315
316
There is an ideological spinning of the events that allows social actors to have an
agentive role in the re-signification of the events in the service of their local political agendas. In this case, Latin American social actors are not merely reproducing the imperialist or anti-imperialist discourse, but constructing a discourse
that accentuates the meaning of these events by constructing intertextual and
lexical chains that relate them to local political grand-narratives and issues.
5. Conclusions
[F]acts get their importance from what is made of them in interpretation.
(Said, 1997: 162)
The texts analyzed in this article show how in both newspapers evil is attributed
to forces outside their own group. For this reason, both newspapers find it difficult
to understand and explain the events of 9/11 on their own terms. On the one
hand, both try to compare the event to the known experience and make them
resemble it, but on the other hand, both express the incapacity to comprehend
and assess the events for they are unprecedented in some ways.
The argumentative strategy used by the more conservative newspaper is to
displace evil to the Other (which constitutes not only those responsible for the
events of 9/11, but also the Uruguayan Left especially the former guerrilla group
Tupamaros). However, in order to make their argument coherent they have to
manipulate their characterization of the different actors for all of them to fit in
the same bag. The Left is then demonized and transformed into the same category as the new Other, the new terrorists.8 For the more progressive newspaper,
La Repblica, the argumentative strategy relies on switching the focus to state
terrorism and re-connecting these events to the previously established antiimperialist discourse. Neither newspaper is able to address the unparalleled
nature of the events. As Seyla Benhabib (2001) expresses in relation to the
interpretation of the events some intellectuals have put forth,
Neglecting the internal dynamics and struggles within the Islamic world, and the
history of regional conflicts in Afghanistan, Pakistan, India and Kashmir, these
analyses assure us that we can continue to grasp the world through our usual
categories, and that by blaming the policies and actions of western governments, one
can purge oneself of the enmity and hatred which is directed toward one as a member
of such western societies. These analyses help us neither to grasp the unprecedented
nature of the events unfolding since September 11 2001 nor to appreciate the
internal dynamics within the Arab Muslim world which have given rise to them.
(p. 1)
Traditionally, social scientists have studied evil as a form of cultural displacement or as a residual category without considering evil on its own terms.
Alexander (forthcoming) proposes to study evil as the ways in which social
actors, institutions and societies systematically elaborate it in pursuit of the
good. The social construction of evil is necessary for the social construction of
good; the dividing line between the two must be drawn and redrawn time and
time again (Alexander, forthcoming), Evil is produced, in other words, not simply
to maintain domination and power, but in order to maintain the very possibility
of making positive valuations (p. 16). This model of social good and evil presents
binary representations based on the discourse of civil society.9 Those who
consider themselves as members of the group define themselves in terms of the
positive qualities of this binary set of representations and define those who should
be excluded from the group in terms of the negative ones.
This operation of in- and out-group identity definition was shown in the analysis of these Uruguayan newspapers. Social actors who are irrational, passionate,
unrealistic or mad cannot be allowed into the group. These actors are represented
as forming secret societies, being conspiratorial, calculating in their behavior and
conceiving of those not in their group as enemies. Constructing a person in terms
of such anticivil qualities makes it necessary that they be denied access to rights and
the protection of law (Alexander, forthcoming: 22). This construction is what validates repression against these social actors who should be excluded. The discourse
of repression is also similar in both newspapers, both advocate the establishment of
international law to try these actors for crimes against humanity.
The differences between the conservative and the progressive newspaper are
that when the debate about these issues is related to the local political arena the
understanding and construction of meaning are radically different. The conservative newspaper tries to re-define recent Uruguayan history in order to maintain
the coherence between its ethical arguments at the international and national
level. However, the progressive newspaper contests this re-interpretation of history and points out the incoherence and double-standards of the conservative
groups when trying to redefine their local politics in order to maintain a liberal
democratic argument for the international issue at hand. The analysis of
intertextuality shows some of the instantiations of this debate.
Politically the argument about international events evolves into a local
political argument (i.e. human rights violations resolution and validation of the
opponents political position). However, these arguments also represent more
universal debates over how to share the planet with peoples and cultures that are
not part of our group. In this aspect there are, as shown by the analysis, important
differences between the two newspapers. The conservative newspaper, El Pas, constructs the Other based on prejudice and stereotypes and generalizations of a few
members to the larger group. This type of discourse of difference does not contribute to the knowledge or understanding of the Other, or to its possible inclusion
in the future. In contrast, the progressive newspaper, La Repblica, constructs a more
complex identity of the Other and of the us by including a variety of voices in its
discourse and acknowledging the possibility of change and dissent within a group.
This analysis attempts to contribute to a process of complex cultural dialogue
in an effort to describe how the ways in which we construct events and
participants in discourse contribute or not to understanding the unprecedented
events we are living.
317
318

AC K N OW L E D G E M E N T S
I would like to thank Teun van Dijk and the CDA-PhD class list for their motivation to write
the article and for the fruitful debate about this topic. I also would like to express my
gratitude to Jim Martin for his close reading of an earlier version of the article and to the
other editors for their suggestions. As always any mistakes left are my responsibility.
T E X T S A NA LY Z E D
El Pas edicin digital. Editorials from 9/12/01 to 9/25/01, http://www.elpais.com.uy

La Repblica en la red. Editorials from 9/12/019/25/01.
NOTES
1. Manichean refers to the philosophy of Mani from Persia (3 AD), which divides the basic
forces of the universe into conflicting forces of good and evil.
2. It is interesting to note that a similar difference in number was found between the
number of articles about ethnic groups and ethnic affairs published by the more liberal
press than those published by the more conservative press in van Dijks (1988) study of
the representations of Others in headlines.
3. In the 1960s and early 1970s there was an armed guerrilla movement in Uruguay that
followed the teachings of Che Guevara and the example of the Cuban Revolution in
order to bring about political and social change. Today the Movement for National
Liberation-Tupamaros is a legal political party with representatives in Congress and
local assemblies. Many of these currently serving politicians were in jail during the
military dictatorship in Uruguay (197385).
4. The terms selected to summarize the results are types of the tokens that refer directly
(through nouns) or indirectly (through adjectives, adverbs) to the Muslim Other.
5. The president of the Arab Institute for Human Rights and director of the journal Revue
Arabe des Droites de Homme.
6. The representative of the Council for Islamic Relations with the US.
7. Escraches are a form of demonstration in which some Human Rights organizations,
especially the organization HIJOS (children of the disappeared) protest in order to
publicly mark the military accused of violations of human rights and have been
exempt of any legal responsibility for their actions.
8. Seyla Benhabib (2001) notes that these new terrorists are nihilistic and different from
other forms of terrorism because they do not have any form of responsibility or
accountability towards the populations where they are located.
Whereas terrorist groups like the Basque ETA and the IRA still have to be governed by
some sense of proportion in the damage they inflict and the violence they engage in,
in order not to lose all sympathy for their cause in world public opinion, these new
terror networks are not motivated by foreseeable political goals analogous to the independence of the Basque land from Spain and France, the removal of the Irish Catholic
population and unity with the UK Protestants [sic], and the like. Nor are these groups
fighting for the hearts and minds in the West by seeking the conversion of the
population to Islam and to Islamic ways of life. (Benhabib, 2001: 5)
I believe Benhabib intends to say the IRAs goals are the removal of UK Protestants and the
unity of the Irish Catholic population; however, the citation includes her original words.
9. According to Alexander (forthcoming) civil society indicates a democratic manner of
demarcating the good, the moral, the right.

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