POLITICAL PROTEST AND STREET ART Recent Titles in Contributions to the Study of Mass Media and Communications The Media in the 1984 and 1988 Presidential Campaigns Guido H. Stempcl HI and John W. Windhauser, editors The Democracy Gap: The Politics of Information and Communication Technologies in the United States and Europe Jill Hills, with S. Papathanassopoulos Journalism for the 21st Century: Online Information, Electronic Databases, and the News Tom Koch Public Television: Panacea, Pork Barrel, or Public Trust? Marilyn Lashley The Cold War Guerrilla: Jonas Savimbi, the U.S. Media, and the Angolan War Elaine Windrich Political Controversy: A Study in Eighteenth-Century Propaganda Robert D. Spector Gordon McLendon: The Maverick of Radio Ronald Garay Before Video: A History of the Non-Theatrical Film Anthony Slide Media and Apocalypse: News Coverage of the Yellowstone Forest Fires, Exxon Valdez Oil Spill, and Loma Prieta Earthquake Conrad Smith Ranks and Columns: Armed Forces Newspapers in American Wars Alfred Emile Cornebise Clarifying McLuhan: An Assessment of Process and Product S. D. Neill POLITICAL PROTEST AND STREET ART Popular Tools for Democratization in Hispanic Countries LYMAN G. CHAFFEE Contributions to the Study of Mass Media and Communications, Number 40 Bernard K. Johnpoll, Series Adviser Greenwood Press WESTPORT, CONNECTICUT • LONDON rJ ^ 3 6 . p s C & \ Library of Congress Cataloglng-in-PublkatkMi Data m 3 Chaffee, Lyman G. Political protest and street art: popular tools for democratization in Hispanic countries / Lyman G. Chaffee. p. cm. — (Contributions to the study of mass media and communications, ISSN 0732-4456 ; no. 40) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0-313-28808-9 (alk. paper) 1. Street art—Spain—History—20th century. 2. Street art—South America—History—20th century. 3. Politics in art. I. Title. II. Series. N8236.P5C53 1993 751.7'3'09460904—dc20 92-45084 British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data is available. Copyright © 1993 by Lyman G. Chaffee All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced, by any process or technique, without the express written consent of the publisher. Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 92-45084 ISBN: 0-313-28808-9 ISSN: 0732-4456 First published in 1993 Greenwood Press, 88 Post Road West, Westport, CT 06881 An imprint of Greenwood Publishing Group, Inc. Printed in the United States of America The paper used in this book complies with the Permanent Paper Standard issued by the National Information Standards Organization (Z39.48-1984). 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Copyright Acknowledgments The author and publisher are grateful for permission to use excerpts from the following: Lyman G. Chaffee, “Political Graffiti and Wall Painting in Greater Buenos Aires: An Alternative Communication System,” Studies in Latin American Popular Culture 8 (1989):37-60; and Lyman G. Chaffee, “Poster Art and Political Propaganda in Argentina,** Studies in Latin American Pop­ ular Culture 6 (1986):78-89. Lyman G. Chaffee, “Public Art and Political Propaganda: Argentine Protest, 1986,” Ibero Amer­ icana 18 (2) (1988):79-100. Lyman G. Chaffee, “Social Conflict and Alternative Mass Communications: Public Art and Poli­ tics in the Service of Spanish-Basque Nationalism,** European Journal of Political Research 16 (5) (September 1988):545-572. Reprinted by permission of Kluwer Academic Publishers. g L LptimEp-. To my parents, Elene Chaffee-Loebbecke and the late Wilber A. Chaffee Contents Acknowledgments ix Abbreviations xi Part I A Comparative Assessment 1 1. Street Art as Political Communication: An Overview 3 2. Street Art: How It Is Effective 23 Part II The Iberian Peninsula 35 3. Spain: Centralism and Regionalism 37 4. Basque Nationalism: Center-Periphery Conflict 69 Part III South America: The Southern Cone 99 5. Argentina: Hyperarticulation and Competition 101 6. Brazil: Evolving Articulation 131 7. Conclusion: Explaining Street Art’s Continued Utility 161 Selected Bibliography 165 Index 169 Acknowledgments This research grew out of an interest that developed through educational and field research trips to South America and Spain over the past thirty years: study- abroad programs, dissertation research, summer field research each year, sab­ batical leaves, and a year at the University of Madrid. Throughout these years, first as a student at the University of Madrid during the Franco period, and later while doing dissertation research in Argentina during the Onganfa dicta­ torship, I became fascinated by the political street art propaganda placed on public walls. I began to record these images mentally and by taking notes and photographs. This study developed from those experiences. First, I would like to acknowledge an intellectual debt to Alberto Ciria. When I was a graduate student, he helped to direct my interest toward Argentina, where the work on this project began. His writings on Argentine popular cul­ ture have been an inspiration. A second debt goes to Harold Gresham, who first encouraged me to study in Spain many years ago. My brother Wilber, who shares my interest in Latin America, provided intellectual stimulation through many conversations. He kindly read and provided comments on the manuscript. George Heneghan read sections of the manuscript. Wayne Martin read the whole text and provided over the years an intellectual exchange based on a shared interest in Spanish politics and culture. A debt is owed to Anne Fitzgerald for editorial work and comments on the manuscript. My family over the years encouraged me in my intellectual interests regarding international study and tolerated my long periods of absence. Elizabeth Mahan gave much needed early encouragement and commentary to the project. Donald Castro organized a number of professional panels on popular culture that provided me with an opportunity to present segments of this project professionally. I am grateful to Charles Tatum and Harold Hinds,