Political communication and the price issue: a case study of government communication and the crisis of importing cattle from Brazil in Morocco

Abstract

The study aimed to reveal some characteristics of communication during the crisis phase (the communication crisis that accompanied the importation of Brazilian cattle) on the part of the government, the media, and public opinion. This was done by revealing the communication strategy (the selected topics...) pursued by the three parties that possess the legitimacy to discuss and debate within the space of political communication.

To that end, the study used the descriptive-analytical method by collecting and analyzing data through the digital environment, especially the official government website, the Arabic-language website of the electronic newspaper Hespress, and some other national and international websites.

The study revealed that the issue of cattle importation constituted a subject of extensive media discussion and also led to the involvement of a large number of citizens in public debate and satire, to the point of questioning the government’s agricultural policy, especially since the government’s communication was weak and below expectations. This led the media to dominate the scene. Ultimately, it negatively affected the government’s image in the eyes of public opinion.

Based on the study, the importance of political communication in crisis management becomes clear. This means that the government must adopt preventive crisis communication by communicating with public opinion through the media in order to explain its decisions and the measures it takes.