Cuba and Bernie Sanders: Analysis of the Online Media Discourse at a Crucial Moment of the 2020 Democratic Nomination Race

• DOI: https://doi.org/10.13169/intejcubastud.13.1.0043
• Pages: 43-66
• Published date: 01 July 2021
• Date: 01 July 2021
• Author: Yoan Karell Acosta González
• Subject Matter: Cuba,Bernie Sanders,online press,Discourse Analysis,socialism

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ACADEMIC ARTICLE

CUBA AND BERNIE SANDERS: ANALYSIS

OF THE ONLINE MEDIA DISCOURSE

AT A CRUCIAL MOMENT OF THE 2020

DEMOCRATIC NOMINATION RACE

Yoan Karell Acosta González

Associate Professor and member of the Group of Semantic and Discourse Analysis Studies of

the School of Foreign Languages at the University of Havana and member of the Group of

Complexity

Abstract

This paper examines the way Cuba was represented in noticeable online media in

connection with Bernie Sanders’ aspirations to become the Democratic nominee for the

2020 presidential election. Traditional anticommunism and a historical one-sided view

on Cuba in the press, as well as widespread conceptual confusion about “socialism” in

US society, converged against Sanders over the run-up to the nomination, especially at

a crucial moment in February 2020 when he was the frontrunner and was interviewed

by CBS. The paper analyses the reaction of the online press to Sanders’ comments on

Cuba during the interview, but also considers other US press reports during 2019 as

well as specialised literature on the topic. Discourse Analysis parameters are brought

forward to highlight ideological discourse representations in the media.

Keywords: Cuba, Bernie Sanders, online press, Discourse Analysis, socialism.

Introduction

On 23 February 2020, Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, a Democratic Party

candidate for President of the United States, was the frontrunner, after victories

in New Hampshire and Nevada. At that moment, Sanders was interviewed by

Anderson Cooper on the well-known CBS TV show 60 Minutes (Cooper 2020).

44 ACADEMIC ARTICLE – YOAN KARELL ACOSTA GONZÁLEZ

InternatIonal Journal of Cuban StudIeS 13.1 Summer 2021

The candidate’s statements about Fidel Castro and the Cuban revolution were

nuanced. He said, “it’s unfair to simply say everything is bad” on the island. In

this context, he offered a positive portrayal of the massive literacy programme

carried out in Cuba in 1961.

In tune with the most visible opinion trends in the US concerning Fidel

Castro and the process of change led by him (Solomon 2000; Perez 2002; Prieto

2004; Landau 2006. Gómez Masjuán 2010; Lamrani 2011; Acosta González

2017), Sanders clearly condemned the “authoritarian nature” of the Cuban

system, as well as the alleged imprisonment of dissidents on the Caribbean

island. Cooper reminded Sanders that he had made similar comments across his

long political career.

Sanders’ answers resonated notably in the mass and social media on the inter-

net, against a very particular backdrop both in the United States and in the

context of relations between the US and Cuba. In the US, the Democratic Party

primaries were underway to choose the candidate to face Donald Trump in the

presidential elections in November. Substantial evidence demonstrated the exist-

ence of deep political polarisation (Pew Research Center 2014, 2016, 2017;

Domínguez López and Barrera Rodríguez 2018; Ciaño Zanetti 2016), which

had grown over recent decades. Trumpism, as a matter of fact, was a result of it

and, recursively, one among various factors increasing divisions, tensions and

political confrontation.

Under these circumstances, also marked by gross rising economic inequality

(Piketty 2013; Boushey et al. 2017) and complex social problems, social demo-

cratic proposals became increasingly noticeable within the Democratic Party

(Sanders 2014; Stevens 2019; Ember 2019; Cramer 2017), put forward by

Bernie Sanders, mostly since his candidacy to the Democratic nomination in

2016, when he turned out to be a formidable rival to the winner, Hillary Clinton.

The senator from Vermont became well known for his remarkable social

base – very strong among the youth – significant activity on the Web and social

media, unprecedented contributions from individual donors and a programme

aimed at tackling the great inequality in US society. Some of his renowned

proposals were Medicare for all, a significant raise in the minimum wage to

$15.00 an hour, the relief of students’ debt, fighting climate change, among

others. Discursively, Sanders lashed out at Wall Street, corporations, insurance

companies, Big Pharma, the political establishment – including the Democratic

Party – and the extremely wealthy. Additionally, he called for higher taxes on

the rich to finance these projects. Moreover, Sanders adopted the “democratic

socialist” label, in an apparent attempt to transform the understanding of the

term socialist.