In recent weeks, as a result of the conflict between Russia and the West triggered by the invasion of Ukraine, the reach of Russian media as a source of disinformation for the Latin American population has reached new milestones and evidence. The presence of these mass media and disinformation allows the Kremlin to question the democratic model prevailing in most of Latin America and to defend the official position of the Russian government on various issues, including the invasion of Ukraine.
Latin America in sight
Countries like Mexico, Argentina and Colombia are part of Russia’s strategic media-political objectives, according to an Ipsos study commissioned by RT. It is significant, according to the findings of the DFR Lab, that 50% of the traffic on the RT website in Spanish is registered in the aforementioned countries. This behavior reflects the influence that Russian media has in a market where it competes with CNN, Voice of America and BBC, among other international media.
It is also important to consider the impact they have on the different social networks: Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and Youtube, as well as on their Telegram and WhatsApp channels and their websites.
in full development
The penetration of media such as RT and Sputnik in the Latin American information space led to the unfolding of the sharp power Russian, whose narrative is in synergy with that of the allied governments (Cuba, Nicaragua, Venezuela) and of those voices and intellectual networks (such as those that exist in the Clacso) that see themselves as the “multipolar alternative to the unipolarism of the West”, whose dynamics they are oriented, in fact, to the consolidation of a new geopolitical hegemony opposed to liberal democracy.
Russia and several Latin American countries have been experiencing parallel processes of autocratization in the 21st century. Personalist illiberal regimes, such as those of Russia, Venezuela and Nicaragua, have strengthened dialogue, collaboration and mutual support. Their practices converge in the progressive elimination of democratic institutions and actors (opposition parties, media and civil society organizations).
A paradigmatic case is the nexus between Russia and Venezuela. Venezuela is positioned as a Russian gateway to the Latin American market and regional space, not only economically, but academically, culturally and in the media. In turn, Russia offers a diplomatic counterweight as a global ally against the United States, against other democratic allies, and against the questions and disapprovals of the international community.
Venezuela: gateway
Russian-Venezuelan relations have not only diversified but also deepened, as we have seen after analyzing the different dimensions in which illiberal synergies operate – ideological, geopolitical, security, media, etc.
To explain how Russian influence is projected in Latin America, it is possible to identify the Kremlin’s synergies with autocratic allies in the region in positions (diplomatic and media) on democracy, human rights and international relations.
In a recent analysis of Russian and Venezuelan media coverage and editorials, elements such as sovereignty, loyalty and resistance stand out, interpreted from an illiberal sovereignist prism, which delegates to the State (and its high officials) the incarnation of the nation. , above all other considerations.
Russian disinformation media are propaganda-spreading machines that advance the Kremlin’s agenda and seek to fuel distrust of institutions within democratic societies. For these media, the ratings or the mere penetration of the public is not the most important thing, but the possibility that their narratives become references and their contents can be transferred to other more reliable platforms.
All this represents an additional field of struggle that requires greater attention, as it is effective in its purpose of generating distrust in democracy. This represents a real challenge for democratic forces in the region, just when liberal democracy is at its worst.
Unopposed advance
The advance of Russia’s strategic communication in Latin America met with relatively little opposition. One of the factors behind the success of the media in Latin America is the public’s lack of understanding of the nature of Moscow’s interest in the regional information space. Many Latin Americans perceive the presence of media outlets such as RT or Sputnik as a simple expression of information pluralism.
In the Latin American context, there is little public debate about the role of Russian media, although perhaps the war in Ukraine has changed this situation somewhat. Russia will try to sustain its strategic communication in the neighborhood as an effective tool (due to its high and immediate impact and relatively low costs) of its foreign policy, finding a tune with the publics and illiberal discourses of Latin American societies, elites and intellectual field.
