La opinión pública en Cuenca a través del periódico El Progreso (1918-1924)

Abstract

This research aims to analyze the influence of the press and understand the construction of public opinion in the city of Cuenca during the period 1918-1924, using as a main source the local newspaper El Progreso of conservative tendency, to understand how this medium reflected and shaped the ideals and trends of the Cuenca society in a historical, social, political and cultural context. This analysis is developed from the political history in the city of Cuenca, since during the twentieth century important transformations for the development of the city were experienced, including the consolidation of a national identity and the evolution of political structures supported by important characters of the time, the analysis of the newspaper content focuses on: how ideological positions were presented and discussed that generated tension, given that in the Ecuadorian political context there were two opposing groups, the conservatives and the liberals. In this context, identifying the approaches of the different points of view in the editorials brings to light the ideological discrepancies and how these perspectives competed to influence the society of the time, thus identifying patterns and recurring themes to understand how the construction of public opinion was developed in the citizens.