Marginalized group: women
Historically, Latin America has been perceived as a patriarchal region. Most of Latin American countries have undoubtedly made significant progress throughout the years in regards to democracy and its impact on their elections. However, as stressed by Donna Lee Van Cott, the issue of women’s place in politics remains a debatable topic as it continues to take the back seat despite the fact that women’s lives are greatly impacted by decisions made by this man’s dominated world. It is important to note that the issue of women’s marginalization in my opinion is just one aspect of the broader and larger problems of marginalized groups such as race and social class issues. There are quite many women in leadership position in Latin America, such as Brazil and Argentine, yet women remain one of the marginalized group in the region. I think women in politics are not using their platform to really advocate for women’s causes. Also, one problem related to the lack of impact in the political scene by women in Latin America is the issue of trust. Are women trusted to be good leaders? Women are often regarded as mothers, household guardians, nurturers, strong etc. in other words, Women are more valued when it comes to spousal duties and raising children. However, it seems like there are very little hope and trust placed on the female gender when it comes to many other issues including governance. Although women have shown great signs of resistance when it comes to claiming what they believe is their right versus what is being given to them, and have achieved some successes as we have seen in the case of the “Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo” holding weekly vigils demanding accountability for their missing relatives in Argentina, a concrete and solid case is yet to be made for women. This makes me evaluate and wonder women’s desire to be involved in politics and hold key positions in the government. Many believe in their civil duty, hence seem to be participating more and more in elections but do women themselves want more than that? On Page 245 -246 (Democracy in Latin America), the author emphasized on the difference between women in the United State, Europe and women in Latin American countries. She argues that women in Latin America seem to be more feminine than feminist. To elaborate, I will say women are more submissive and kind of just go with the flow. It seems to me that women in Latin America, seem to be bound by social interests rather than gender related interests. They seem to be more driven by a general outcome, family, etc. than their own personal gain based solely on their sexual orientation. Although we see more countries in Latin America warming up to the idea of having female leaders trusting in their ability to bring about change and take these countries in the right direction, I personally believe more work needs to be done mostly by women in order to change the general perception on what a woman’s role is in today’s society. I do not believe one can be feminine without being a feminist in today’s society. Women must claim their rightful place in society and begin fighting for equal rights and also by standing their ground on issues that most matter to them. Just as emphasized by Morgan and Lee, although both views seem to distant themselves one from the other, I think many changes need to be made and women must lead the fight to these new and modern reforms to be made. Women can lead the fight against gender pay gaps, corruption, drugs, discrimination etc; as I believe those issues are equally important because the idea of being content with the status quo can only worsen the situation.
To answer your question, I think that women are trusted to be good leaders…to a certain extent. While men and women will have different opinions based on their ideologies, as Jana Morgan mentions in “Gender and the Latin American voter”, gender does affect ideologies. I think that men are more likely to underestimate the power of a woman because of traditional gender roles. In a patriarchal society such as Latin America, some men still hang on to this idea that the woman should be a housewife instead of a breadwinner.
I think it’s also important to note that women throughout the region are starting to create lively progressive movements in an effort to demand equal rights, but also in a way, they are showcasing their aggressiveness towards a government that has oppressed them for so long. Although she is no longer Brazil’s president, what we can take away from Dilma Rousseff’s impeachment is that thousands of women took to the streets to peacefully demonstrate their support for her. Even though she wasn’t the greatest leader, women felt more empowered by her than they did by her oppressor Michel Temer, who is now the current president of Brazil.
I like that you brought up the “Mothers of the plaza de mayo” because it reminds me of the 43 missing students of Ayotzinapa (2014) in Mexico. The situation is similar as it relates to human rights and women protesting for answers from the government, but I have to disagree with you about women when you say that “more work needs to be done mostly by women on order to change on what a woman’s role is in today’s society” because I think that women power movements are becoming more prevalent in Latin America. They are demanding and fighting for equal rights, they’re speaking out and they’re gathering together to form a sorority – a type of unity that shows the government they won’t be backing down especially when it comes to their reproductive rights.
You have raised a very good point in regards to women coming out in masses to throw their support to a fellow woman in her bid for an official position. However, I still do not think a woman is the number one choice when it comes to political leadership not to mean that women are unable to be good political leaders but as an overall perspective, it is still a “man’s world” in a sense hence all these fights for emancipation an women’s rights are still erupting. So in a region like Latin America, I feel as though the fight is twice harder as more women are coming to the realization and catching up to Europe or the US that they can achieve more by standing up to a system that was designed to fail them. Thus as you mentioned, more women are embracing the idea of female leadership and it may not necessarily be to represent their causes but it could just be to encourage a fellow woman in such position and to make a statement for women’s place in today’s society. There are many women in great leadership position but still feel male dominance greatly. I think it is a progressive thing and like everything else will take time but will come to pass as democracy keeps settling a bit more every day.
It’s interesting that you note that women might not be using their platforms in politics very effectively. In what ways could this be done? Also, don’t forget that at times quotas can place women in government positions as mostly a figure head without much political power.
I see your point about trust being an issue when electing women into office, but the recent increase in Presidents that are women in Latin America could support the opposite.