Repatriation in covid-19 pandemic. Frames of the latin american press

Abstract

The study analyzes the news coverage of eight Latin American newspapers on the migration crisis that occurred in 2020 as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, which forced thousands of migrants to forcibly return to their countries of origin, faced with the closure of land borders, maritime and air, problems further exacerbated by the loss of their jobs in the recipient countries. An analysis of qualitative content related to the informative frames present in the digital news published during the first six months since the pandemic was declared globally is developed, observing that the frames of attribution of responsibility and conflict concentrate the news focus on the information published by the media included in the sample, concluding that the journalistic frames on repatriation during the pandemic concentrated the news coverage on the actions of the governments of the Region, especially the Ministries of Foreign Affairs and the diplomatic missions of the countries. Latin Americans as the main governmental authorities responsible for repatriation, as well as regarding the information related to the political tensions that have arisen at the international level between some Latin American states, regarding the management of the return of the people who were left behind moved abroad without being able to enter national territory, due to restrictions on entry and free movement of people imposed by the governments of the region.