Media democratization in Brazil: achievements and future challenges

This article focuses on the achievements in the field of media democratization in Brazil, underlining the current challenges that public communication systems face in the light of the persistence of the misuse of these structures by politicians for their own interests. The role that the public media platform can have in the democratic project is examined, including how it can assist policymakers concerning vital national as well as global issues. The slow democratization of Brazil during recent decades, however, has taken place while not altogether disassociated from the authoritarian legacy that has characterized the formation of Brazilian society. Nonetheless, the acknowledgement that the mainstream media have become more professional, including wider voices in the mediated sphere, is not reason enough to proclaim the end of the struggles for media democratization.