Table Of ContentPOLITICAL 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,
