The feminization of politics in Latin America

Currently, in South America,  two important topics of the feminist and women's movement agenda are being debated. On the one hand, the issue of gender parity in Chile, and, on the other,the bill for free, safe and voluntary abortion in Argentina. The Chilean Constituent Assembly will be the first in the world to have total gender parity, and the bill in Argentina is part of Alberto Fernandez commitment to submit to the legislature a bill that would include the demands of the movement for voluntary, free and safe abortion. The bill has already been approved by the House of Representatives and is awaiting a decision by  the Senate. 

President Alberto Fernandez’s initiative is probably the most delicate one, because it inevitably triggers a polarization of public opinion and opposition on the part of the Churches and anti-rights movements (self-styled “pro-life”). Both with great influence in society. Gender parity as a concept has not generated that level of polarization, but the regulations designed for the Chilean constituent assembly have an unprecedented character. 

Both processes would qualify as examples of a "feminization" of Latin American politics. By this we mean the emergence of political positions that pick up issues mobilized by the feminist and women's movement. Positions that do not come easily in electoral and transition situations. Unless they are political parties or movements with a clear institutional position in favor of the feminist narrative, the choices made by parties and movements that are more electoralist, catch-all, or center and center-left tend to be colored by cost-benefit calculations, depending on the direction of public sentiment regarding these issues. 

The ability to affect those calculations and options has always been one of the challenges of feminist political pragmatics. How far can we go?, is a recurrent question . Even President Fernandez, who seems to us to have a genuine commitment to the aforementioned initiative, had to be pushed by the social movement. Peronism, being a very plural and varied political movement, cannot be considered a political actor that would surely ally itself with feminism, but there are more chances today than before. 

The Chilean initiative, we believe, also reflects the strength of the feminist and women's movement. Its  leading role in demonstrations and social protests had particular prominence. Chilean politics, beset by a phenomenon that called into question its own representational function, moved towards shielding gender parity as a result of pressure from the social movement. 

The question we ask ourselves is whether these processes in the two South American countries are an anticipation of what could happen in the new electoral cycle that is coming, with elections in Ecuador, Peru and Chile in 2021 and then a series of other elections in 2022 There are countries in which it is clearly unlikely that a feminization of politics, in the sense that we are positing, will emerge strongly. Paraguay, perhaps one of the most conservative countries in the region, will surely not establish such bridges with the women's movement. The Peruvian elections will be a new Pandora's box, but new young actors who carry that flag can be expected to enter the scene. If the last municipal elections in Brazil are any indicator, it is likely that Bolsonaro's misogynistic and neo-fascist tone will decline and  centrist options will take hold without major innovations or setbacks in the field of gender policies. 

However, it is important to note that the palette of options that comes with the feminization of politics is quite broad. The electoral cycle from 2017 to 2019 saw a shift to the right in the region, but even so, several important issues were well established and represented consensus throughout the political arc. The generic concept of gender equality and the need to end violence against women were factors that practically no one disputed. Equal pay and opportunities, granting women greater participation in decision-making at all levels, joint responsibility with men in domestic work and family care, were relatively stable parameters. 

A breakdown of the consensus arose around issues related to sexual and reproductive rights, the voluntary interruption of pregnancy, as well as the social and collective empowerment of the feminist movement. The famous "performance" of LasTesis on the "rapist on your way" and the accusing finger that pointed to the State and the systemic factors, were manifestations of autonomy and assertiveness that hurt the concessional  and patriarchal tone that leaderships assume with respect to certain demands from the women's movement.

Structural inequalities also caused important oppositions. For example, the whole debate about care and housework. The call for gender co-responsibility in domestic work as a private matter, resolved within the household was one thing, but the valuation of unpaid domestic work and its inclusion in the national accounts was another. Culture and values ​​was another factor;  how feminism affects masculinity and the views that are held about it. Such deeper aspects clashed with traditional patriarchal cultures, or the practices of organized crime groups that in some way organize violent masculinity to exercise their dominance in certain territories. 

One of the things that we will have to observe during the next electoral cycle is whether political positions shift to the right or left of that palette of options that the feminization of politics brings with it. Obviously, this process will depend a lot on the vigor of the social movement and its ability to coalesce  with a series of other demands and positions that demand equality and inclusion. The motor of the movement will be significantly boosted if the Senate approves Alberto Fernandez government's initiative and if the performance of the Chilean constituent process shows that gender parity adds value. 

The original Spanish version of this blog was published by www.Latinoamerica21.com and is used by different newspapers in Latin America.