Resumen

HANTZSCH, Carolina Verena Franco. Dos miradas, dos ausencias. Estrategia y discurso en torno a la inasistencia de Daniel Scioli y Jair Bolsonaro a los Debates Presidenciales Televisados. Cuad. Cent. Estud. Diseñ. Comun., Ensayos [online]. 2022, n.112, pp.102-132.  Epub 01-Jun-2022. ISSN 1853-3523.  http://dx.doi.org/10.18682/cdc.vi112.4094.

Organized by the NGO Argentina Debate, the first Argentinian presidential debate was held on October the 4th, 2015. The incumbent, Daniel Scioli, had announced he would skip this debate the week before: an unexpected resolution. An empty chair was left where his place would have been. Exactly three years later, on October the 4th, 2018, the last debate prior to the first round of Brazil’s presidential elections was held, part of an already well-established tradition. Using his heath as an excuse, candidate Jair Bolsonaro skipped this televised meeting.

The object of this article consists of this two “missings”. Its point of departure is that not going to a presidential debate is a costly decision for a presidential candidate. The article first explores hypothesis that can explain the decision to skip the debate in terms of its tactical implications. Second, the article turns to observe the absence as a cause, examining its discursive effects. The analysis is situated on two levels: strategic and discursive. The conclusions hang upon this twofold analysis, while taking advantage of a comparative approach.

Palabras clave : presidential debates; political speech; electoral campaigns..

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