Representations of the Haximu Massacre in the media

an analysis from the perspective of Critical Discourse Analysis

Abstract

This article aims to analyze the journalistic coverage of the Haximu Massacre, which occurred in 1993, from the perspective of Fairclough's (2016) Social Theory of Discourse, within the framework of Critical Discourse Analysis, also considering Thompson's (2011) contributions on modes of ideological operation. The research is based on bibliographic and documentary references, with a qualitative focus on the analysis of two regional newspaper headlines, identifying how lexical, structural, and enunciative choices shape the representation of events and the voices involved. The results indicate that journalistic discourses tend to shift the focus from the violence suffered by the Yanomami to institutional elements and figures of authority, relativizing the severity of the massacre and naturalizing the violence against Indigenous peoples, reproducing historical stereotypes that portray Indigenous people as obstacles to progress and garimpeiros as heroes of regional development. At the same time, the analysis highlights the capacity of social actors to question, reinterpret, and resist predominant narratives, suggesting that the media functions simultaneously as an instrument of power and a field of ideological contestation, with the potential to reproduce or challenge existing relations of domination.