From Crime to Crisis : Media Narratives of Extortion and Economic Decline in Ecuador
Tusa, Fernanda (Universidad Técnica de Machala)
Aguaded, Ignacio (Universidad de Huelva)
Tejedor, Santiago (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Departament de Periodisme i de Ciències de la Comunicació)

Date:	2026
Description:	20 pàg.
Abstract:	This article examines how Ecuadorian digital media have portrayed the phenomenon of vacunas-an extortion practice targeting small businesses-between January and July 2025. Through qualitative content analysis and semiotic analysis, this study reviews news items, reports, interviews, editorials and chronicles published in eight major national outlets (Expreso, El Universo, El Comercio, El Mercurio, La Hora, GK, Primicias and Extra). Findings reveal that the media frame vacunas not only as a criminal act but also as a structural threat that deepens unemployment, territorial disputes, economic decline, business closures and migration. Symbolic representations of fear, power and vulnerability permeate both textual and visual narratives, reinforcing imaginaries of crisis and uncertainty. The article concludes that media coverage does more than inform; it constructs interpretative frameworks that shape how citizens, institutions and policymakers perceive insecurity, linking everyday extortion with broader debates on governance, economic fragility and social cohesion in Ecuador.
Rights:	Aquest document està subjecte a una llicència d'ús Creative Commons. Es permet la reproducció total o parcial, la distribució, la comunicació pública de l'obra i la creació d'obres derivades, fins i tot amb finalitats comercials, sempre i quan es reconegui l'autoria de l'obra original.
Language:	Anglès
Document:	Article ; recerca ; Versió publicada
Subject:	Extortion dynamics ; Vacunas practices ; Media representation ; Economic decline ; Small businesses ; Ecuadorian journalism
Published in:	Societies, Vol. 16, Num. 2 (2026) , art. 41, ISSN 2075-4698

DOI: 10.3390/soc16020041

20 p, 280.1 KB

The record appears in these collections:
Research literature > UAB research groups literature > Research Centres and Groups (research output) > Social and Legal Sciences > The Department of Communication and Education
Articles > Research articles
Articles > Published articles