It is no secret that Mexico lags well behind European, North American and other Latin American countries in regards to women’s participation in government. Though Mexican women have been legally entitled to vote and stand for election since 1953, there is still a wide gap in terms of their equal representation in the three branches of government. As recently summarized by Patricia Galeano–president of the Women’s Federation at the National University, UNAM–in 32 Mexican states there are only 2 women governors, only 2 women in the federal government’s cabinet and by 2007 only 19 of the country’s 2435 municipalities were headed by women.
Mexican political parties have attempted to address this issue by implementing affirmative action policies in candidate selection. However, these have far from made a real difference. Women often end up competing for hard to or impossible to win districts. In legislative campaigns, women frequently take the understudy-like “alternate deputy” candidacies (diputado suplente). The measures allow political parties to fulfill gender quotas without risking upsetting the male dominance of elected positions.
This incoming legislature introduced yet another “creative” mechanism that has outraged those advocating equality. Though they registered as candidates, campaigned and were elected by Mexican voters last July, 8 congresswomen promptly gave notice of their resignation in the first session held at the Chamber of Deputies. They did it so that the alternate deputies who ran with them, all male, could assume their positions.
Though this has been criticized by the media and by other congresswomen, the fact still remains that political parties are allowing discriminatory practices and that women party members are accepting them. Affirmative action has clearly shown its limits in promoting a more balanced representation of the genders in government. Unless a real educational effort is made so that Mexican citizens are convinced and supportive of the equality of rights of men and women, no amount of quotas will be enough to stop those currently willing to bypass the rules and keep things as they are.
