In
many respects, the development of the women’s political movement in Mexico is
akin to a modern-day story of how a girl grows up to become a woman, mature,
intelligent, resourceful, and clever, albeit still the daughter invested in the
country’s culture and heritage. Indeed, the historical analysis of how women
gained political astuteness, clout, and endurance is centered on the richness
and complexity that is uniquely Mexican with all of its social, cultural,
economic, and political panoramas. The voices of women whose lives focus on
service and dedication to their communities are the most telling insofar as the
essential elements of the women’s political movement. Parallel to the political movement is the
feminist position, which adds an international scope to the multi-vocal
background. However, there are as many different kinds of feminisms as there
are voices, no doubt a phenomenon common to other countries such as the United
States. Examples of these voices are in the political lives of three women from
the state of Tamaulipas (a U. S. and Mexico border state), particularly in
juxtaposed views and perspectives against the historical and current political
discourse.
Women’s Suffrage Movement in Mexico
According
to the historical account by Victoria E. Rodriguez,
(Women in Contemporary Mexican Politics, 2003)) women in Mexico were not allowed to
vote across all levels of political elections until they obtained full suffrage
in 1953 (Rodriguez, 2003). Amalia Cabellero de Castillo Ledón is credited for
bringing the proposal to its final steps when she persuaded then Presidente de
la Republica, Adolfo Ruiz Cortines to
declare equal suffrage for women. The
road toward equal rights for Mexican women is arduous, and many women have participated
in the process, their contributions small and large, but each one played a
crucial role nevertheless. In Mérida, Yucatán, women were allowed equal
suffrage at the state level in 1920; soon afterward, the first women in modern
Mexico were elected to office. Of the three elected, one was Elvia Carrillo
Puerto, sister of the Yucatecan governer, Felipe Carrillo Puerta. But the
suffrage movement (1935-1953) was successful because of indefatigable,
persuasive women, networking, negotiating and lobbying. Aurora Jimenez Palacios from Baja California
was the first woman elected in 1954 after full suffrage. Today, women comprise
52% of the country’s electorate.
Women’s issues and
rights have been consistently relegated to a secondary position in Mexico’s
political history, particularly during harsh, economic periods that reinforced
the “ultraconservatism” of the right. Some of the key events that boosted the country’s
feminist movement include the United Nations-sponsored women’s conference held
in Mexico City in 1975, which became the focal point for protest and the
beginnings of the modern feminist movement in Mexico; the establishment of 51
new NGOs in the 1980’s, many of which were directed to gender-related issues; the
Plan de Igualdad in 1991, which foregrounded equity issues in regard to
campaigning and holding political office; the passing of the Ley de Violencia
Intrafamiliar in 1997; the formation of the Mexican Women’s Parliament in 1998,
and shortly therein, the Comisión de Equidad y Género; and the 1999 reform of
the Federal Labor Law forbidding the discrimination against women based on
pregnancy. It’s important to note that although some Latin American countries
have passed a law that requires a quota for ensuring an equitable or
near-equitable participation by women in political offices (40% women and 60%
men), Mexico’s “law” (Cuota de Paridad) is not enforceable, thus, feminists are
closely monitoring the electoral process for inconsistencies and inequalities.
Women Leaders in Tamaulipas
The advances made
by women leaders in Mexico in the face of immense obstacles, social, economic,
cultural, and politics, has spurred interest among feminists and researchers.
Rodriguez’ (2003) work focused on the identification of a multitude of various
aspects of successful women leaders in Mexico in order to advance the
participation of women and improve the democratic structures of the
country. The women featured in our study
shared many of the features and characteristics that emerged in Rodriguez’ study. The following summaries underscore the
commonalities. An important observation is that the women held steadfastly to
their political party’s ideologies, thus, their interests are not solely
anchored on women’s needs and issues and unlikely to call themselves
“feminists.” The descriptions are based on a panel discussion presentation on a
May 6, 2011 to an audience of university students, faculty, administrators, and
community (University of Texas Brownsville).
 |
| Betty Collado-Lara |
Beatriz (Betty)
Collado-Lara (http://bettycollado.org): deputada del estado de Tamaulipas y
coordinadora del grupo parliamentario del Partido Acción Nacional or the
National Action Party (PAN), [representative
for the state of Tamaulipas and coordinator for the parliamentary group of the
political party - PAN]. Ms. Collado-Lara began her talk substantiating
the advances by women in government – roughly, 25% of the legislative body, at
the federal and state levels, are comprised of women; 18% of the judicial
system and three members of the executive branch are women. In the state of Tamaulipas, 30.5% of the
representatives are women. The election of 2000, which heralded an historic
change in the country’s political landscape, was an open door for Collado, and
she like many other men and women, took advantage of the “transition of a new
stage” by participating in the political electoral process. A different
political party took center stage replacing the long-standing PRI (Partido
Revolucionario Institucional or Institutional Revolutionary Party) with the PAN
of the newly elected president, Vicente Fox.
But, Collado’s efforts in 2000 and 2004 did not result in winning the
elections for which she campaigned until 2006, when she ran and became the
winner of a coveted federal election, a “first” for a woman to be elected from
that district. Collado seized at the
opportunity to serve in politics because of ideological reasons, and the PAN
best serve her interests in that regard. Her rhetoric is often pronounced with
motivational messages, contending that “la vida se compone de los sueños” (life is made of dreams), and since engaging
in the political process that all of her efforts have been worth it. Collado is
apparently proud of her accomplishments, particularly because of the many
obstacles that she managed to overcome.
Collado claims
Beatriz Paredes Rangel, a senior member of the PAN, as an influential person in
her life. She also mentioned that the needs of women in her district have
motivated her to accept and fulfill her responsibilities as a politician.
However, her priorities are with the issues that “affect us all,” and she
stands with President Calderón on his administration’s decisions.
In many respects,
Collado’s ideas about women and her role within the institution of the family
in Mexico coincide with the information that Rodriguez collected in her study
of women politicians (see Rodriguez, 2003, p. 119). Collado fits Rodriguez’
description of the “progressive Panista”, which acknowledges the obstacles in
the political process, but doesn’t deviate from the traditional view that women
bring their natural essence as women
to the political experience. Collado’s
mention of the “cuota de paridad” that drives the equity agenda for maintaining
the 40-60 ratio of women to men in elections at all levels demonstrates her
awareness of her own plight as a woman politician.
 |
| Letty Salazar Vásquez |
Congresista Norma
Leticia (Letty) Salazar Vásquez, presidenta de la Población e Inmigración de Puntos
Fronterizos: Salazar Vásquez, the youngest of the three featured women, rose
from the ranks in the 13 years that she has served in political office. She
began serving as a councilwoman (regiodora) and then, as a state representative
(deputada) for Tamaulipas. Her father and her sister are in political life; her
mother prefers a more private role, but both her parents received an elementary
school education while she and her sister obtained post secondary degrees, and
in her case, she obtained a post graduate degree. In her talk, Salazar mentioned an important
achievement under her charge: the passage of an immigration law, “una ley de
inmigración,” the first of its kind in 30 years, an important feat to advance
the rights of immigrants. She elaborated on the importance of this law because
of the polemics surrounding the mistreatment of Mexican immigrants who
illegally cross the border into the United States.
When asked about
her political stance on the issues related specifically to women, Salazar
alluded to her role as an advocate for women’s rights early in her career. However, in light of her overall summary of
her career, the advocacy role was just a step toward other tasks, one in which
a junior member of the legislative body would assume, or as an obligation in
response to having been elected as a woman. According to Salazar, a woman’s contribution
in her role as politician is based on the same kind of ideological platform as
her party’s affiliation, the PAN, and similar to what Collado had discussed.
Specifically, Salazar named three characteristics of a woman leader in
politics: a) vocación de servicio (dedication to service); b) honestidad
(honesty); and c) ser sensible (women are practical and can personalize
problems).
 |
| Guadalupe Flores Valdez |
Guadalupe Flores
Valdez, the oldest of the three featured speakers, is deputada and presidente
del congreso del estado de Tamaulipas. Her political agenda is clearly focused
on the small town communities often disregarded or overlooked by the
progressive political undercurrents in urban areas of the country. A member of
the PRI, partido revolucionario institucional (Institutional Revolutionary
Party) since 1982, Flores Valdez grew up in a small town of San Carlos and
despite very few resources, she was able to obtain a post secondary degree and
worked as a teacher before she became involved in politics. She was the daughter
of campesinos (farmers) but felt a special kind of responsibility as a member
of her community that led her into a career afuera de las aulas y en la
comunidad (out of the classrooms and into the community).
Flores’ vision and
dedication are clearly anchored in the needs of the campesinos. She feels an
obligation toward a segment of the population that she identifies with and
feels the responsibility to represent them. She made some reference to the
plight of the woman, for example, that 24% of women in the country are head of
households. But, Flores’ political rhetoric in regards to women’s rights is
aligned with the conservative, traditional views of women as first and foremost
members of the family. Her response to the question about the differentiating
characteristics of women leaders includes a) honesty; b) responsibility; and c)
practical (sensibles), in exact alignment with Salazar Vasquez’ similar
response.
Feminists in Mexico
 |
| Marta Lamas |
 |
| Patricia Mercado |
A well-known
writer, Marta Lamas began work as an activist/feminist in the ‘70s and recently
celebrated the fifteenth year as editor of the popular and academic-style
magazine publication, Debate Feminista.
She founded La Sociedad Pro Derechos de la Mujer (SEMILLAS) that provides
assistance and support to small businesses and cooperatives that work on
diverse issues and varieties of venues related to women. She is co-founder with
Patricia Mercado and others of GIRE (Grupo de Información en Producción Elegida),
an organization that promotes women’s reproduction rights.
More Notable Feminists/Activists:
 |
| Daphne Cuevas Ortiz |
• Director
of Consorcio, a
coalition formed to campaign politically and socially
for
women’s causes such as women’s health issues, equity among
sexes; works with legislative actions to
promote change;
• Activist
in the feminist movement;
• Promotes
equity in women’s rights and combats social injustices for women
 |
| Martha Sánchez Nestor |
Representative
for CONAM (Coordinadora
Nacional
de mujeres indigenas y enlace continental de mujeres indígenas;
• Coordinadora
Guerrerense
de mujeres indígenas;
Founder,
La Casa de la Salud del la Mujer,
Manos Unidos
 |
| Lol Kin Castañeda Badilla |
Activist/spokesperson, Lesbians, Gays, transexuals,
bisexuals
 |
| Adriana Ortiz Ortega |
Author
of books on abortion politics, sexual and reproductive
rights;
Professor/academic
at UNAM
 |
| Teresa Ulloa Ziáurris |
Attorney/human
rights activist; 40 years fighting human trafficking and Violence against women;
Regional
director for the Coalition Against Trafficking Women (CATW);
Created
Red Alert system in México;
Received
Gleitsman
International Activist Award in 2011
Vásquez-Mota: Highly Criticized by Feminists
Josefina Vásquez-Mota, presidential candidate in 2012, was criticized by feminists because of her lack of interest in working within an agenda advocating for women. In an article by Gladis Torres Ruiz (
Vásquez Mota: canto de sirenas por el voto) Vásquez Mota is portrayed as anti-feminist and an opportunist, loyal to Calderón’s political machine to the “bone,” which has rewarded her with political advancements. (See article by Torres Ruiz on
Marta Subiñas Abad’s critique on Vásquez Mota and Isabel Miranda de Wallace.)
“Where are the Women?”
The fact that very
few women have successfully competed in important, huge elections in the
Mexico’s history substantiates claims made by authors such as Rodriguez (2003)
that there exists “sexist patterns of candidate selection” (p. 201). Indeed,
only six women have claimed victories as governors in four states: Griselda
Alvarez, (representing the PRI in
‘79-’85) in Colima; Rosario Robles Berlanga (representing the PRD in ’99-’00)
in Distrito Federal; Beatriz Paredes Rangel (representing the PRI in ’87-’92)
in Tlaxcala; Dulce Maria Sauri Riancho (representing the PRI in ’91-’94) in
Yucatan; Ivonne Ortega Pacheco (representing the PRI in ’07-present) also in
Yucatan; Amalia Garcia Medina (representing the PRD in ’04-’10) in Zacatecas.
Particularly, the opposition parties, the PAN and the PRD, have fallen short of
their campaign intentions to be more inclusive in the pursuit of more
representation and democracy.
Sources
Rodriguez, V. E. (2003). Women in contemporary Mexican politics.
Austin:
University
of Texas Press.
http://www.eluniversal.com.mx/nacion/150317.html
Daptnhe cuevas Ortiz http://www.consorcio.org.mx/presentacion.htm
Lol Kin Castaneda Badillo http://lolkin.blogspot.com/
