Dilma Rousseff's impeachment according to Brazilian press editorials

Abstract

This article presents a systematic literature review (SLR) of empirical research on how Brazilian press editorials interpreted the deposition of President Dilma Rousseff in 2016. The SLR performed a content analysis (CA) of academic papers (n=13) within this scope to identify: (a) the journalistic outlets studied, and methods employed by the specialized literature; (b) whether this literature reveals interpretive patterns of the analyzed editorials concerning the impeachment; (c) whether any form of political parallelism can be observed. To this end, we used three academic search systems, namely: Scopus; SciELO; and the CAPES Theses and Dissertations Catalog, from which we selected works published between 2016 and 2023. Under these parameters, 13 studies were found analyzing the newspapers O Globo, Folha de S. Paulo, and O Estado de S. Paulo; the magazines Veja and Carta Capital; and the television newscast Jornal Nacional, from Rede Globo de Televisão. The reviewed works show that, except for a single case (Carta Capital), all other journalistic outlets intervened in the public debate in a manner that defended, through impeachment or resignation, the dissolution of Dilma's government. In light of this, we discuss how the concept of “asymmetric parallelism” helps critically understand these findings in the literature and how future research on regional media outlets would help better comprehend this crucial moment in the relationship between the press and politics in Brazil.