Kemiskinan Ekstrem di Nusa Tenggara Timur: Analisis Wacana Kritis atas Data, Kebijakan, dan Relasi Kuasa

Abstract

This article examines extreme poverty in East Nusa Tenggara (NTT) through Norman Fairclough’s Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) combined with official statistical data. Indonesia’s national target of “zero extreme poverty by 2024,” based on the World Bank’s US$1.90 PPP standard, tends to reduce complex realities into simplified figures. By analyzing policy documents, statistical reports, and national as well as local online media from 2023–2025, the study finds that technocratic lexicons, political metaphors, and passive sentence structures reinforce state-centered narratives while obscuring structural vulnerabilities in NTT. Discourse production is dominated by central institutions such as BPS, the Coordinating Ministry for Human Development and Cultural Affairs (Kemenko PMK), and the P3KE Task Force. National media generally highlight statistical achievements, whereas regional media reveal disparities and community-level struggles. At the social level, extreme poverty in NTT is shaped by fragile subsistence-based economies, limited access to basic services, and target-driven politics that serve as instruments of political legitimacy. These dynamics demonstrate a form of “statistical fetishism,” where numbers are prioritized over lived realities. Thestudy recommends adopting capability-based, participatory, and multidimensional approaches to better reflect local contexts and enhance the effectiveness of poverty alleviation policies.