Analysis of the drafting, enactment and implementation process of Act 26.522 on Audiovisual Media Services: Drifting away from an ideal

Abstract

In the last decade, organisations and movements in several Latin American countries that had been working towards the democratisation of communications for a long time have brought about reforms in the laws governing the media, with mixed success. This research aims to assess Act 26.522 following the proposal by Oszlak and O'Donnell. Thus, an analysis is conducted on the issues added to the agenda, the decision-making process, the implementation of action plans and the assessment of the impact upon the media system. The analysis also approaches the actors involved in the policy-making process aiming to determine the power each of them held. The last phase described is particularly important, as it intends to take stock of the implementation process of the Act until the end of the second term in office of Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner, in December 2015. The findings suggest that the debate having such an impact on civil society can be construed as one of the most important achievements of this public policy. However, evidence is also found of a progressive loss of intensity of the initial goals identified by key players in the process, such as the Government and the Coalition for Democratic Broadcasting.