Revolution or civil disobedience? – the interpretation of the taxi blockade in the Beszélő between 1990 and 1994

Abstract

In October 1990 taxi drivers protested against the rising fuel prices, which were introduced by the newly elected government after the change of regime. The event which later became known as the taxi blockade, divided the political parties and the Hungarian press. Many columnists interpreted it as an organized putsch attempt against the government or as a mass demonstration. In my study, I analyze the changing press coverage of the blockade in the early 90s in the magazine Beszélő (in English: the Speaker), which was a samizdat outlet during the late Kádár regime. The authors at first emphasized their fear from a possible violent riot on the streets and used as many as 56 metaphors. However, after the blockade they highlighted the non-violent way of it and interpreted it as a civil disobedience. In my study, I am willing to show how the authors saw the role of the civil society at these times, when political scientists and politicians struggled to define it as well. Furthermore, I attempt to answer the question: how the authors (some of them as former dissidents) could adapt a new language in the new democratic system.