One Wall Many Voices: Framing the U.S.A.-Mexico Border Fence in Editorial Cartoons from the two countries

Abstract

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Walls provide not only physical but also ideological boundaries between neighbors. They can be seen as a symbol of protection or segregation. Using as stimulus the security fence between Mexico and the United States, this study aims to identify the main frames in American and Mexican political cartoons to decode the different messages and symbolism towards the border wall through which one can understand the U.S.-Mexico border issue as seen in the newspapers from the two countries.\nUsing a qualitative analysis, the thesis studies 34 American and 69 Mexican cartoons from dailies that are representative of the press in the two countries. The cartoons evidence the use of six frames and symbolism: Death of migrants and the renegotiation of NAFTA were exclusively used by the Mexican papers. The freedom issue and the divisive nature of the wall balanced in both countries’ cartoons and the main preoccupations of the United States cartoons concerned the country’s double standard of hiring illegal migrant laborers while at the same rejecting an immigration agreement with Mexico. \nThis study’s original contribution serves as a small step in the long road of empirical database expansion in framing political cartoons and the symbolism behind the portrayal of barriers.