by “We make them tiny to be able to grab them because it is easier to have those things small so that in the future they might become a reality, like an amulet,” explained Daniel Gutiérrez, journalist at El Diario, a Bolivian newspaper.
He is describing the miniature newspapers found at the Alacita festival in La Paz, Bolivia’s capital—a celebration held in January every year in homage to the pre-Hispanic Andean god Ekeko. The publications are satirical, jokingly criticising powerful people and society in general. Nowadays, mainly journalists from Bolivia’s major media outlets, such as Daniel Gutiérrez, publish content. The practice of satire through miniature newspapers at Alacita, however, stretches back to 1846 and was incorporated into the UNESCO Memory of the World initiative in 2012. “It is a tradition that demonstrates, satirises and jokes with the day-to-day news. It’s like a release, in my case, to show that some things are bad and can be criticised in a more humorous manner,” Mr. Gutiérrez said.
Satire as Resistance
Satirical media is a means for people to speak up against bias and injustice across the globe. Nigeria’s so-called Nollywood films, for instance, use satire to exaggerate the stereotype of Nigerians as scammers, thereby deconstructing such prejudice. In Zimbabwe, the satirical Magamba TV produces several shows poking fun at everything from politics to sports. The Savala Vada—India’s version of The Onion—describes itself as the country’s most honest news source, making fun of Indian politicians and societal issues under anonymity. Satire is popular in the Global North, too, with famous outlets such as The Daily Show in the US.
These are just a few of countless examples highlighting how satirical media is used as a form of protest. Resistance does not, after all, encompass only organised political action, as demonstrated by James C. Scott’s book Weapons of the Weak. The book illustrates how exploited groups can resist oppression in various passive ways, such as sabotage, foot-dragging and even verbal defiance. Paul Alonso, Associate Professor at the School of Modern Languages at Georgia Tech, agrees. He is an expert on satirical media in Latin America and believes that “if you are critiquing the status quo, critiquing the societal and cultural values of your time, you are trying to resist them in an intellectual and discursive way.”
In his research, Dr Alonso has shown how satirists across Latin America during the 21st century blend international formats with local traditions of humour and social critique, creating new forms of satiric media. One example is the Mexican online show The Pulse of the Republic (El Pulso De La República), hosted by the comedian Chumel Torres. An adaptation of The Daily Show and Saturday Night Live Weekend Update, Torres has adapted his show to the Mexican context, frequently discussing and satirising national political and social issues.
When to Say What
Dr Alonso had a career as a journalist before turning to academia, even hosting a satirical show in his native Peru ten years ago. “I don’t think it was very well understood at the time, but I think satire at that moment was not very prevalent in the Peruvian media. I think things have changed since then.”
Indeed, satirists need to tread the line of what is deemed acceptable irreverence at any given time, constantly engaging in negotiations to this end with their platforms and audiences. Dr Alonso gives the example of the partly satirical Chilean magazine The Clinic—established in 1998 and named after The London Clinic, where Augusto Pinochet, former military dictator of Chile, was first held after his arrest in London that same year. The Clinic started publishing anti-Pinochet content at a time when the mainstream media did not yet discuss the crimes committed by Chile’s government during the military dictatorship (1973–1990). Chilean society changed a lot during the next 10-15 years, and what was viewed as transgressive had evolved beyond The Clinic’s initial quips. Still, the magazine was crucial in acknowledging past injustices, significantly contributing to Chile’s collective healing process.
Satire allowing people to laugh about their problems—past or present—is also visible in other parts of the world. In Japan, for example, the skit group The Newspaper (Za nyūsupēpā) are one of the only comedians making fun of politicians and societal issues in a country where powerful figures and other sensitive topics are rarely satirised. They were founded in 1989 to “snap everyone out of this dark time and make them laugh”. Similarly, over 200,000 Danes have signed a satirical petition to buy California from the United States in response to Donald Trump’s recent attempt to purchase Greenland.
Can Satire Change Politics?
Whether satirical critique can have a tangible impact on political developments, such as forcing politicians to resign or spurring protest movements, is unsettled. On the one hand, it is hard to discern what people who consume satirical content do with that information. Dr Alonso, for instance, is cautious to suggest that satire has a concrete impact on society beyond challenging the dominant discourse. In doing so, satire can deconstruct the dominant narratives and assumptions of a certain ethnic group, for example, showing how prejudiced they are compared to reality.
A 2017 study by Hsuan-Ting Chen, Chen Gan and Ping Sun shows that individuals need to believe an issue is personally important for satire to spur them to participate in politics. However, the generalisability of this conclusion is limited because some research suggests that different forms of satirical content can have unique effects.
On the other hand, satire has been part of successful protest movements—such as the protests calling for the impeachment of South Korea’s president Yoon Suk Yeol in December 2024 after he, a few weeks earlier, had declared martial law and tried to dissolve parliament. Satirical messaging was featured heavily digitally and on the protesters’ flags. One of the most popular reads: “Please let us just stay home. We’re tired of leaving the house.” One protester explained online: “These flags show that anyone can participate. You don’t need to belong to a political group or have a loud voice.” In this case, the movement was successful, with Yoon Suk Yeol removed from office after getting impeached by parliament.
Moreover, the intensity with which governments sometimes go after satirical media arguably confirms its impact. For example, Colombia admitted in 2016 that the state was responsible for the 1999 murder of popular political satirist Jaime Garzón.
A Growing Research Field
The emergence of accessible digital media and the international success of satirical formats such as The Daily Show have allowed for increased production of satirical content globally. Satire has become a more established form of political communication in many countries and can perhaps even be considered mainstream. This has led to greater satirical literacy—as Dr Alonso calls it—among ordinary people.
Consequently, there has been a rise in academic interest in satire. There now exist numerous research institutions dedicated to studying satirical media and its societal impacts. One of these is the Satire Research Network at Roskilde University in Denmark. The programme, founded in 2024, aims to investigate the ethics and aesthetics of satire to understand and mitigate public controversies about satire.
The inhabitants of La Paz have had strong satirical literacy for almost 200 years. “[T]he people have become accustomed to this type of content and demand it. They want a funny newspaper to read and laugh and share with their friends”, as Daniel Gutiérrez puts it. While satire may or may not directly reshape politics, it remains a sharp instrument for questioning authority and challenging societal norms.
Adrian Ganic is a M.Sc., THE LONDON SCHOOL OF ECONIMCS AND POLITICAL SCIENCE and a DDRN CORRESPONDENT
