Franja 2025: Media as the Stronghold of Capital

Original article: Franja 2025: Los medios como trinchera del capital

By Jean Flores Quintana, Political Scientist

Let’s be clear: the electoral campaign of 2025 is not a parade of candidates; it is the battlefield where the contest for common sense unfolds.

What we see on television reflects our organic crisis: the old neoliberal order is crumbling, yet it refuses to die. In this perilous crossroads, the question is not who has the catchiest jingle, but who can offer us a way out and who intends to trap us forever in the ruins.

In this landscape, Jeannette Jara’s proposal shows a clear understanding of the terrain. Her language seeks to build bridges, speaking to a broad majority, which is a critical tactical decision. We are not facing a debate on equal terms, but rather a conservative sector entrenched in a powerful media apparatus that has instilled fear for decades.

In this context, a strident discourse would easily be caricatured and neutralized. Politics is not a seminar on theory; it is a war of positions. The plan here is clear: to contest the dominance of the opposition, engage with that social majority to dismantle the ideas imposed by the elite, and from there, articulate a new will for change.

Amidst this maneuver, the right-wing bloc and its allies in the press deploy their own hegemonic machinery. El Mercurio and La Tercera do not act as observers but as guardians of the system. Every initiative from Jara aimed at decommodifying a right is met as a declaration of war on their interests. Therefore, there is no deliberation of ideas, only editorials that warn about the uncertainty, a euphemism that describes the ruling class’s fear of losing its privileges. What we observe is not journalism; it is capital defending itself.

This propaganda operation is complemented by the dual command strategy of the opposition. Matthei provides them with the palatable narrative: sensitivity and order, concepts that morning shows and news programs translate as the progress agenda the country needs. Meanwhile, Kast and Kaiser perfectly play the role of the bad cop. Their segment is not designed to persuade but to inject moral panic and stir the phantom of chaos.

The symbiosis is brutally effective: Kast yells fire in a crowded theater, the cameras focus on the flames, and Matthei sells us the only escape route… which conveniently leads back to the very model that sparked the fire.

It is precisely in the brutality of this setup where our main source of hope resides. The ideological dominance of the right is shattered; they can no longer convince, and therefore, their only project is to administer the remnants of neoliberalism with an iron fist, as they lack answers to the real demands for pensions, health, education, housing, and work.

In this situation, the choice is brutally simple and deeply encouraging. Voting for Jeannette Jara is not a blank check or the end of the struggle, but the most powerful tool we have to shift from resistance to offense. It’s not just about halting the conservative restoration; it is about opening a decisive breach. Voting for Jara means gaining a strategic position from which the accumulated strength of the people can advance. It’s about giving us the opportunity to start building a future, instead of remaining trapped in resistance against a past that refuses to die. Victory is not the final destination; it is the beginning.

By Jean Flores Quintana, Political Scientist.-