The Discourse Function in Televised Debates. A Cross-cultural Study of Political Debates in Mexico, Spain and the United States

Abstract

The article describes and compares the discourse strategies used in televised debates and those of the winning candidates in the latest presidential elections in Mexico and the United States, and in Spain’s most recent general elections. A content analysis is done, based on the functional theory of political campaign discourse. The results show acclaim was the predominant strategy in the U.S. and Mexican debates, while the attack strategy was the most prevalent in Spain. However, the three winning candidates used acclaim more than other strategies. The debates also focused more on political issues than on the candidates themselves.