“Literacy to legislate”: A hegemonic ideology reproduced by the peruvian newspaper correo

This study analyzes the relationship between the spelling of former congresswoman Supa and the related assessments by the Correo newspaper of what is considered “writing” for legislation. The methodology applied is an ideological analysis of journalistic discourse. The paper identifies two representations of spelling and writing in general. Considering the autonomous model of literacy, it is explained that the newspaper assumes that writing creates and develops higher-level cognitive skills, and that it leads to economic progress, so that not everyone can be a member of Congress. On the other hand, from the new studies of literacy, it is concluded that these assumptions turn out to be unsustainable beliefs and even generate racism, because literacy goes beyond technical and racial aspects.