Hegemony, “Mediated” Campus Struggles, and Political (In)Action: Extracurricular Political Socialization of Prospective Educators in Mexico

Newspaper coverage of a student council election campaign at the Universidad Veracruzana in Mexico, after it turned violent, portrayed politics as unnecessary conflict among groups led by selfish, corrupt leaders. The ideological messages functioned hegemonically to immobilize the majority of education students, who were concerned about major social problems, by discouraging them from pursuing collective action for change. A minority of students resisted such messages and became involved in political organizations. However, as such involvement was motivated in part by a concern for improving their job prospects, their action reinforced the ideology that deflected most of their peers’ participation.