The media and social conflicts during the Covid-19 pandemic: analysis of the framing present in the Lima press during the protests against the interim government of Manuel Merino (2020)

In recent years, Latin America has experienced a series of mass protests, with varying political repercussions. In Peru, between October and November 2020, 13% of Peruvians mobilized in the streets in response to the social conflict provoked by the removal of President Martín Vizcarra and the appointment of a new president. The Peruvian media put this situation on the agenda; however, differences were apparent in the way this conflict was framed and interpreted for public consumption. Employing a descriptive, transversal, non-experimental and mixed approach, 53 front pages of the most widely-read newspapers in Peru (El Comercio, La República, Trome and El Popular) are analyzed, revealing a journalistic approach characterized by threat and opposition, and the absence of a frame promoting dialogue with the aim of transforming the conflict.