Influences of postcolonialism over the understanding and evolution of public relations in Latin America

This chapter introduces the intersection between postcolonial theory and public relations practice in Latin America, especially through the production of an indigenous body of knowledge and, as an illustration, the dominance of foreign-based public relations agencies. We made a special effort to include authors from the subcontinent who have contributed to these theoretical perspective.

the arrival and evolution of public relation has a modern practice in the hands of foreign-based multinationals corporations has influenced the practice and field all of study up to the present. The majority of the top agencies in selected Latin American countries (i.e., Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Salvador, Mexico, and Venezuela) are based in the United States and United Kingdom. The exception to this trend is Venezuela, where political, economic and social changes have forced multinational agencies out of the country or have limited them to a few multinational clients.

According to the theoretical framework used in this chapter, it is expected that the top multinational agencies in the region conduct their operations from a functionalistic and systematic perspective. Future research could delve into the different practice of domestic and multinational agencies. Most importantly, we could use the postcolonial perspective tu document practices in areas of study that are more responsive to Latin American markets and communities.