Politics, Media and Discourse: The Reaction of the Catholic Church against the Governments of the Radical Party in Entre Rios within the Framework of the Constitutional Reform (1914-1935)

Abstract

In this article, we intend to analyze the roles and positions adopted by the Catholic Church and the Radical Party in Entre Rios between 1914 and 1933. The goals both parties pursued were based on different interests: on the one hand, avoid the consolidation of the liberal criteria postulated by the ruling party and that would have been incorporated into the provincial constitution, on the other hand, establishing and reforming the provincial constitution with modern criteria. The media, especially newspapers, became organs of dissemination. They were responsible for promoting the transmission of their ideas and installing both discourses (for or against the events in the political level) in the public opinion and in their followers. The reaction of the Catholic Church belongs to a process of expansion and internal organization that goes along with a consolidation attempt in the political scenery, at the same time that it is a defense against the attacks from the Radical Party. The reform of the provincial constitution is the background that allows to identify the way in which the Church's strategies were used to retain its place as an important actor in the society of Entre Rios.