Televisión Española, testigo y actor de las relaciones del Gobierno Suárez con América Latina (1979-1981)

Abstract

The normalisation of external relations was a major issue from the point of view of the democratic transition’s success in Spain. Once the constitutional process was completed, Adolfo Suárez's government sought to increase Spain's presence in Latin America as one of the key foreign policy objectives and as a "third way" alternative to the complex Europeanisation and Americanisation projects contemplated by the Democratic Centre Union (UCD). This article analyzes the role played by Spanish Television (TVE) in this attempt to approach the Latin American countries. The methodology used is based on the study of TV broadcast contents as discussed and reviewed by the newspaper collections of El País, ABC and Diario 16. The results show that television promoted and legitimised the rapprochement towards Latin America thanks to a wide coverage of the new diplomatic relations between Spain and the Latin American countries, as well as through the broadcasting of the most important events that took place in the region and that were subject to diverse interpretations resulting from the proximity between the centrist government and the small screen.