The construction of Latin America as a brand : $$b designs, narrations, and disputes in Peru and Cuba

Abstract

In this dissertation, I examine the ways in which national narratives are produced and executed through the aims, concepts, techniques and language of the nation branding field and their operators. I argue that nation branding is a crucial field in which national narratives are designed, in a context dominated by neoliberal premises of competitiveness, reputation, and management, together with the contemporary mandate of consuming sensorial novel experiences. In my case studies of Peru and Cuba, I analyse the extent to which the production of their nation brands follows the mandates and guidelines of nation branding. I argue that the produced national narratives answer the imperatives of this field, being built upon the promise of multicultural societies offering sensorial elements and exotic adventures; and managed under the expectation of positioning a ‘distinctive’ and ‘competitive’ identity in the global market. By doing so, these strategies reproduce social hierarchies and stereotyped racial images, as visible in the commercials, images, and logos created for the branding purpose. Nevertheless, my case studies reveal that even if nation branding can be understood, mostly, as a homogeneous neoliberal global strategy, it can also operate as a platform serving different purposes and activating internal disputes. In Peru, the branding of the nation appeared in a post-conflict context dominated by a neoliberal discourse, making it the most important governmental effort to produce a discourse about the country and their ideal citizens. For this, in Peru the branding endeavour can be defined as a neoliberal cultural policy, and such branding has generated a massive prideful embracement to its referents as well as alternative counter-narratives. In Cuba, while the government has followed the nation branding guidelines, the created narrative coexists with that of the Revolution, limiting the branding endeavour to a more instrumental use, targeting mainly the external commercially-related audience. Finally, both cases show that these devices invite a discussion about the meaning of the (Latin American) nations in the 21st century.