In Latin America, political power is becoming feminized through illusion

“ For the first time in two hundred years of republic, I will become the first woman president of Mexico. » Frank smile and impeccable ponytail, Claudia Sheinbaum triumph in the presidential election on Sunday June 2, 2024 with nearly 58% of the votes against her rival Xóchitl Gálvez. At the end of a 100% female campaign, the former mayor of Mexico thus joins the ranks of many women who have led a Latin American country, such as Cristina Kirchner in Argentina (2007 – 2015), Dilma Rousseff in Brazil (2011 – 2016), or Dina Boluarte, president of Peru since December 7, 2022. To these states are added Bolivia, Chile, Costa Rica, Ecuador (only for two days), Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama and El Salvador.

The region, regularly acclaimed for the role played by women in politics, is also the one with the most women in its Parliaments. According to figures from the Inter-Parliamentary Union, 36.6% of women will occupy a seat in 2024 – Caribbean included – compared to 26.9% globally. Moreover, in 2024, more than 22% of the presidents of Parliament in the region are women, as are a third of the ministers and almost one in two vice-presidents. “ They are not content to integrate only a few women in the hope of superficially legitimizing the domination of men », congratulates Lissell Quiroz, professor of Latin American studies at CY Cergy Paris University who directed the work Feminisms and artivism in the Americas.

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With quotas and parity laws

This apparently flattering assessment is the result of the introduction of quotas of women among the candidates for elections from the 1990s, starting with Argentina in 1991. Then followed numerous countries, such as Paraguay, Brazil or the Dominican Republic, then eleven others which have since swapped their quotas for parity laws. Today, Guatemala is the only one that has not adopted gender quotas. “ There was a cultural shift after the wave of democratization in the 1980s and 1990s where several left-wing governments pushed for more equality in legislation, notably by creating ministries for women and establishing quotas “, explains Maxine Molyneux, professor of sociology at University College London (UCL) and specialist in the politics of Latin American feminism.

For Christophe Ventura, research director at IRIS and head of the Latin America and Caribbean program, these laws are also the result of a “ profound feminization of societies », yet still largely macho. “ There is a real demographic change at play here, since women are now in the majority and have had access to higher education like never before since the 2000s. », explains the author of Geopolitics of Latin America. Twenty years earlier, on average only one in six legislators was a woman in the region’s Assemblies and Senates.

A gendered distribution of positions

However, on closer inspection, this profile of good student in terms of the representation of women in politics is often undermined. At the local level, where the daily management of a certain clientelism takes place, the promise of inclusion is spoiled: according to the Observatory for Gender Equality in Latin America and the Caribbean(ECLAC), in 2023, only 15.4% women will be at the head of town halls.

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While Peru, Cuba, Costa Rica and Mexico have achieved a high percentage of women in elected councils (more than 40%), only Bolivia can boast parity at the local level. Panama, Guatemala and Brazil have the lowest percentages. “ As soon as there is an instance of effective power, as in town halls, men seize it to create their territory of dominationplague Lissell Quiroz. On the other hand, for more symbolic positions, such as that of regional advisor, we can open them to women. »

In Latin American executive cabinets, politics also has a gender. According to reports from several researchers, the distribution of positions there is “ gendered » and sovereign functions remain largely dominated by men. To them, the portfolios of economy, foreign affairs and defense, and to women, social issues and education. “ The only time this didn’t really happen was under Michelle Bachelet [présidente du Chili de 2006 à 2010 puis de 2014 à 2018, NDLR]regrets Maxine Molyneux. In 2016, his government appointed women to high-level positions and not only to so-called gender-specific positions. » In March 2022, under Gabriel Boric, the Chilean presidential cabinet then became the first in the country’s history to include more women than men (14 against 10).

“ Some countries do not bother to respect their quotas »

Behind the window also hide strategies for avoiding laws on quotas and parity. Often, the electoral rules that govern who can run for office and how political parties should manage their candidacies only apply to pre-candidates. At the time of official candidacies, where the law does not interfere or does not provide for sanctions, parties sometimes allow themselves to replace women with men. “ While in Mexico you are not allowed to move forward if you have not met the quotas, some countries like Brazil, Paraguay or Colombia, which do not even reach 20% women in political positions, do not provide for penalties and do not bother to respect their quotas », Points out Maxine Molyneux.

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Lissell Quiroz criticizes the place of women in so-called “multi-member” elections. During these elections, which are very common in Latin America, each party presents a list of candidates, to whom mandates are allocated at the end of the vote in proportion to the number of votes obtained. “ If we have a list of fifty people, but we know that only the first ten will be elected, women will always find themselves at the bottom of the list », Says the expert. “ Latin America looks good on paper, but in practice, women still face a major obstacle: in almost all countries, distrust of women in politics and preference for men persist. », Adds Maxine Molyneux.

Insidious sexism

These stereotypes are rife even in the profile of the candidates who are elected. “ In Latin America, women most often succeed in politics when they are represented as the legacy of a powerful and popular man », laments the professor of sociology at University College London. Thus, in Brazil, Dilma Rousseff will appear as the one favored by former President Luiz Lula Da Silva after having been a minister for seven years in his government, Cristina Kirchner will take over from her husband Nestor, President of the Nation Argentinian from 2003 to 2007, Violeta Chamorro will become a powerful symbol for the Nicaraguan opposition forces after the assassination of her husband Pedro Joaquín Chamorro Cardenal… And Claudia Sheinbaum has made it her mission to follow in the footsteps of her mentor Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, said AMLO. “ A single woman is considered suspicioussummarizes Lissell Quiroz. Even if it elects women, the system remains completely patriarchal. »

The proof is that progress in women’s rights is still difficult to see the light of day in these countries where the weight of the Catholic Church is now coupled with a resurgence of extreme right-wing nationalists. Although the “green wave” feminist movement has been campaigning for a right to free, safe and free abortion since 2015, it is still partially penalized, or even illegal, in many Latin American states.

Furthermore, in 2022, according to ECLACat least 4,050 women were victims of femicide, Brazil and Mexico in the lead. “ Just like representation in politics, the recognition of women’s rights is a long-term process, which requires an evolution of morals which firstly have to do with family conception and the role of religion. », affirms Christophe Ventura. As for women in politics, ECLAC estimates that we will still have to wait more than forty years before seeing as many women as men, and this alone for the seats of national parliaments.