Counter-Hegemonic Media Production from Urban and Rural Margins in Brazil

In this chapter, we compare how marginalized people act collectively to produce media as counter-hegemonic actions in rural and urban Brazil. We subscribe to the overarching view stated earlier that media pluralism is a process in which grassroots groups and organizations interact with state and political actors, inserted in broader and deeper social and political dynamics. In this context marginalized people act to mobilize resistance, to denounce abuses, to demand rights and respect, to construct identities, promote a sense of belonging and to challenge discriminatory and criminalizing discourses. Our objective is to demonstrate similarities and differences in communicative processes meant for multiple purposes. We believe that this type of comparison provides valuable insights about the challenges underprivileged social groups face in their efforts to raise their voices collectively and thus increase pluralism in public debates in contexts where media and political power are dominated by oligarchic and corporatist forces.