Argumentation and image of self of Argentinian President, Cristina Fernández, in the context of the crisis with the farming sector

Abstract

In the framework of political discourse analysis, this article looks into Argentinian president’s, Cristina Fernandez, argument during the “farming crisis”. To do so, we examine a particular speech delivered on 27th March, 2008. Firstly, we inquire which argument Cristina Fernandez chooses to justify her point of view. To work out the answer, we apply the methodological tools of factual logic (Toulmin, 1958). Secondly, taking into account the president’s argument, we reconstruct the image of herself. We will try to blend the features of factual logic with a rhetorical perspective based mainly on the notion of ethos (Amossy, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2010; Charaudeau, 2008; Maingueneau, 1998, 1999, 2002, 2008), that is to say, the image that the locutor creates of himself. Finally, we wonder how that image could have influenced in the development of the conflict.