Populismo contra Populismo: uma análise pragmático-discursiva sobre a polémica verbal em artigos de opinião sobre a toxicodependência em Portugal

This paper presents the results of an exploratory work, whose main goal is to analyze the construction of verbal polemics in opinion articles about drug addiction in Portugal. Assuming that verbal polemics’ main focus is the disqualification of the opponent, and following the perspec-tives of Discourse Analysis, Pragmatics and Studies on Argumentation, we conclude that the au-thors of the texts under analysis, more than fencing arguments that support or overthrow a certain idea about drug addiction, concentrated their action on discrediting their opponent. To this end, they resorted, fundamentally, to ad personam arguments, but also ad hominem ones, attacking their opponent’s face. Complementarily, from the analyzed data, we corroborate the idea that populism – a term used several times throughout the opinion articles, including both titles – does not have a consensual definition, even though the belief that it has a negative connotation, which is why it serves as an offense to the opponent (regardless of the political quadrant). Finally, there are several traces of aggressiveness present in the articles under analysis, which seems to be reinforced by the fact that they establish a clear dialogical relationship, which starts from a critique.