Ahead of the Curve
These past couple of weeks have seen Hillary Clinton in the Democratic Party come within a hair of earning the Democratic Presidential Nomination. This week, Sarah Palin has become the first female Vice Presidential candidate in the Republican Party's history. As you may or may not remember, Geraldine Ferraro was the first female VP candidate when she ran with Walter Mondale back in 1984.
These events got me thinking about how far behind the U.S. is when it comes to political gender equality when compared to Latin America.
Do you know when Latin America elected its first female president? In 1990. Do you remember who?
Violeta Chamorro was elected President of Nicaragua, and her UNO coalition defeated the Daniel Ortega's Sandinista government (yes, the same Daniel Ortega who now swears his communist ideations back in the '80s were just a bad dream).
Since then, Panamá's Mireya Moscoso, Chile's Michelle Bachelet, and Argentina's Cristina Kirchner have been elected to their nations' highest post. And while "American," though not "Latin," Janet Jagan was elected President of Guyana.
Isn't it ironic that the nation that incessantly boasts about its freedom, justice, and equality has yet to nominate a woman for the top post of its country while Latin American nations ravaged by decades of repressive regimes are having no problem finding and electing capable females?
What's even more interesting, in many Latin American nations, the rise in female political activism and access has been tied to "affirmative action."
Which countries? These ones:
Go figure.
These events got me thinking about how far behind the U.S. is when it comes to political gender equality when compared to Latin America.
Do you know when Latin America elected its first female president? In 1990. Do you remember who?
Violeta Chamorro was elected President of Nicaragua, and her UNO coalition defeated the Daniel Ortega's Sandinista government (yes, the same Daniel Ortega who now swears his communist ideations back in the '80s were just a bad dream).
Since then, Panamá's Mireya Moscoso, Chile's Michelle Bachelet, and Argentina's Cristina Kirchner have been elected to their nations' highest post. And while "American," though not "Latin," Janet Jagan was elected President of Guyana.
Isn't it ironic that the nation that incessantly boasts about its freedom, justice, and equality has yet to nominate a woman for the top post of its country while Latin American nations ravaged by decades of repressive regimes are having no problem finding and electing capable females?
What's even more interesting, in many Latin American nations, the rise in female political activism and access has been tied to "affirmative action."
Since 1991, 12 Latin American countries have enacted quota laws that in some cases have doubled the number of female congressional representatives. While in the United States women make up just 15 percent of the House of Representatives and 14 percent of the Senate, in Argentina and Costa Rica, women comprise fully one-third of the national congresses.[BRIEF ASIDE: No, I don't consider "affirmative action" to be "quotas," but some people somewhere do. It's a joke.]
Which countries? These ones:
Quotas or not, it is clear that Latin American countries are more receptive to the idea of a female leader than the U.S.Latin American Countries With Legislative Gender Quotas
Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, and Peru. Venezuela recently rescinded its law. In Colombia, there is a legal requirement that women occupy 30 percent of appointed positions in the executive branch.
Go figure.
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Well, since the USA is only one country, it doesn't surprise me too much :) Now if every country in Latin America had elected a woman as president, or (as it should be) most countries had not much statistical difference between women and men for all posts, it would be worrisome. Given that there's only one USA, only one president post, and so very few chances, I don't think it's terrible.
Orlando, I didn't mean to imply that it was terrible. It is what it is. My point is merely that some Latin American countries, which have a reputation for being, generally, more conservative and more male-oriented than the U.S., have elected female leaders and the U.S. has not.
And, while I'm at it, you can tell by the coverage of both Sarah Palin and Hillary Clinton that there are many people out there with very sexist views on this issue. I heard some bozo radio talk show host on the floor of the Republican convention say, when they asked him how he felt about the Palin pick, that he believed it was wonderful that McCain picked such a gorgeous running mate and the most beautiful governor in the U.S. And he went on to say something about how beautiful Palin is no less than three times.