Pancho Jaime and the Political Uses of Masculinity in Ecuador
Detalles
- Por: Xavier Andrade
- Páginas: 24
- Publicación: 2003
This essay explores the uses of dominant notions of masculinity for constructing representations of political power in Ecuador. This is a case study of the work and audience of Pancho Jaime (1946-89), the prominent and controversial political journalist in Ecuador during the 1980s. Jaime’s mastery of selective elements of popular culture made him legendary in Guayaquil, the country’s largest city and a place renowned in popular imagination for its machismo and flamboyant politicians. Between 1984 and his death at the hands of unknown political enemies in 1989, Jaime illegally produced magazines sold through underground distribution networks. These magazines totaled nearly one thousand pages and included hundreds of caricatures. Jaime’s writing style followed local patterns of speech and embellished sexual stereotypes, insults, gossip, and rumors about public figures. Although his articles were generally well documented, one o f his main strategies was to reveal the corruption of politicians by making connections between their conduct in public office and their supposedly “deviant” sexuality.
