Virginia Melián
(MKV) Media and Communication Studies
Stockholm University

New media and public arenas in hybrid societies: The case of ‘Si a la vida No a la papelera’ website

There has been some debate on whether the Internet facilitates the creation of alternative spaces for political debate and discursive contestation, becoming a medium for less powerful actors to bring issues into the public sphere(s). There is scarcity of empirical research of this issue in hybrid or developing societies. This article is concerned with discussing the online media strategies used by the ‘Si a la vida No a la papelera’ (Yes to life No to paper mill) civil and environmental movement led by the Asamblea Ciudadana Ambiental of the locality of Gualeguaychú, Argentina, linked to environmental movements in the region and Greenpeace on a global level, in order to pursue its goal of stopping the construction of two pulp mills by two European companies on the Uruguayan shore of the River Uruguay, the geographical and political border between Argentina and Uruguay. The article argues that the early adoption of new media strategies by the movement has enabled and supported the actions taken on local, regional and global levels, being a vehicle for addressing local but also a international audience and both making use of and contesting local mainstream media. The article draws on alternative media and publics sphere theories.