Institutional Crisis and the Struggle for Narrative in Guatemala: A Triangulated Analysis of Digital Discourse and Media Diet in the Election of the Constitutional Court
Keywords:
Institutional crisis, digital discourse, media diet, polarization, social media, GuatemalaAbstract
The institutional crisis triggered on February 12, 2026, during the election of magistrates to the Constitutional Court (CC) by the Guatemalan Bar Association (CANG) revealed structural tensions within the country’s democratic system. The intervention of the Public Prosecutor’s Office (MP) was interpreted by various actors as an attempt to alter a key process for institutional balance, rapidly shifting the controversy to the digital ecosystem. This study analyzes 135 posts on the social media platform X, with the aim of examining the construction of the public narrative from a triangulated perspective: institutional, media, and non-institutional digital. The results reveal a marked discursive asymmetry, characterized by limited institutional participation contrasted with an intense production of content by media outlets and digital actors. Media coverage structured the narrative of the crisis through different approaches, ranging from breaking news reporting to contextual interpretation. At the same time, non-institutional digital actors introduced dynamics of confrontation based on delegitimization and harassment. From the perspective of the media diet, the public interpretation of the conflict was shaped by simultaneous exposure to these discursive registers, highlighting a symbolic struggle over institutional legitimacy within the contemporary digital environment. In this context, disinformation processes constitute an additional mechanism through which competing actors seek to shape the public narrative.
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