Discursive Ethos and cenographies in political discourse: an analysis of Lula's open letters in the pre-electoral period in 2002 and 2018

Abstract

This article aims to observe the construction of scenographies and discursive ethos in two open letters authored by the former President Luís Inácio Lula da Silva, published in 2002 and 2018, both with electoral purpose in contexts of candidacy to the Presidency of Brazil. Through the notions of Dominique Maingueneau, as scenes of enunciation, scenography and discursive ethos, the letters were analyzed, comparing the resources used in the construction of public images of the politician Lula, his interlocutors and his opponents, as well as in the representation of temporalities of national political life. Important differences are observed in the strategies used, especially in relation to the ethos and the target public, since the letters atend different interests and functions in each context, having the genre a consolidated place in contemporary political life.