1 What effects did Argentinean feminist movements in the 1950s have on the country’s politics? Word Count: 1,823 2 A. Plan of Investigation The question explored is “What effect did Argentinean feminist movements in the 1950s have on the country’s politics?” This investigation will study feminist movements’ changes to and effects on Argentina’s political institutions. The method of analysis is to compare and evaluate Argentinean politics before and after feminist movements in the 1950s to understand how the movements changed Argentinean government. This will serve as evidence of the political influence feminist movements had in Argentina. The evaluation will use only secondary sources, such as historians’ published works of feminist movements in Argentina. These will provide the best evidence because historians studied Argentinean politics and government before and after the movements, offering detailed comparisons to analyze their effects. Primary sources only depict life during the movements, whereas the historians of the sources used describe political affairs before, during, and after, providing an illustration of changing Argentinean politics due to feminist movements. B. Summary of Evidence One of the most popular successes of Argentinean feminist movements is Las Madres del Plaza de Mayo who played a major role in defeating the military dictatorship that was in place from 1976 to 1983. Protesting every Thursday, they held large demonstrations that elicited international support until the military fell, replaced by a democratic government. 1 As women began to notice improving political conditions, it strengthened their resolve and motivated them to push for more change. This is in line with the overall rising tide of civil rights movements in the 1950s as oppressed groups began taking action.2 One feminist leader said, “Within the 1 Miller, Francesca. Latin American Women and the Search for Social Justice. Hanover: University Press of New England, 1991. Page 11. 2 Brinkley, Alan. “The Fifties.” The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History, 2014. http://www.gilderlehrman.org/history-by-era/1945-present/fifties. 3 Women's Movement, as a woman, I discovered myself, as a person, as a human being.”3 This rising self-confidence pushed women to work hard and, in Argentina, this led to significant political change and democratic transitions. For example, the government put gender equality issues on the political agenda, introduced gender quotas for national legislature elections, and established offices within the executive branch to design legislature for women.4 Yet, some movements seemed to be at a standstill. After feminist movements influenced the transition to a democracy in Argentina, women retuned to traditional roles with limited political participation.5 These show that some movements had failed to continue changing Argentinean political systems after one success. Still, some women’s movements improved opportunities for females in Argentina and strengthened society. Movements starting as early as the mid-1800s influenced the president’s view of women, eventually allowing females to attend and teach in schools. Females constituted about 27% of postsecondary students in Argentina6 and 15% of those receiving university degrees, a major achievement in a time with immense gender disparity.7 In addition, in 1979, international cooperation between feminist movements resulted in the adoption of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) by the United Nations, which gave women the right to education, equal pay, and equal participation in the government.8 As women’s movements mobilized for better conditions for everyday life, they fought against political and economic subjugation and “politiciz[ed] the issues of survival, 3 Safa, Helen. “Women’s Social Movements in Latin America.” Gender and Society, Vol. 4, No. 3. Sage Publications, Inc. (September 1990). Page 363. 4 Jaquette, Jane S. Feminist Agendas and Democracy in Latin America. Durham: Duke University Press, 2009. Page 1. 5 Jaquette, Jane. The Women’s Movement in Latin America: Participation and Democracy, Second Edition. Boulder: Westview Press, 1994. Page 109. 6 Miller, Francesca. Latin American Women and the Search for Social Justice. Hanover: University Press of New England, 1991. Page 61. 7 Ibid. Page 54. 8 Marino, Katherine. “The Long Revolution,” January 25, 2011. http://nplusonemag.com/the-long-revolution. 4 of everyday life,” effectively influencing the transition to democracy.9 Women began to major roles in politics during the Peronist government, during which Evan Perón established the Argentinian Partido Peronista Femenino (PPF), a feminist political party.10 These changes, however, were procured with difficulty. Argentinean feminists collaborated with American feminists to increase their strength, however, U.S. imperialism often caused American feminists to take charge and act as the “natural” leaders of the movements.11 Also, traditional Argentinean view of women saw them only as creators of families and as labor reserve during war; they had to fight to be equals before they could make changes.12 Movements, however, succeeded in advancing women’s legal position. Women came under minimum wage regulations,13 acquired laws for better working conditions and safety, and eventually gained the right to vote in 1947.14 This was an obstacle that women were not able to overcome for many years, but continued actions eventually led to their success. Generally, parties did not support feminist movements because it was risky when trying to win over the popular classes15 and it took time for feminist movements to see their activism causing political changes. C. Evaluation of Sources Women and Politics in Latin America was written by Nikki Craske, the Director of the Institute of Latin American Studies and professor of Latin American politics at the University of Liverpool. The book describes women’s roles in Latin American politics and explains how gender relations shaped political institutions and practices. Craske discusses how women 9 Jaquette, Jane. The Women’s Movement in Latin America: Participation and Democracy, Second Edition. Boulder: Westview Press, 1994. Page 6. 10 Craske, Nikki. Women and Politics in Latin America. New Jersey: Rutgers University Press, 1999. Page 80. 11 Marino, Katherine. “The Long Revolution,” January 25, 2011. http://nplusonemag.com/the-long-revolution. 12 Hollander, Nancy Caro. “Women Workers and the Class Struggle: The Case of Argentina.” In Latin American Perspectives, 4:180–193. Sage Publications, Inc., 1977. http://www.erin.utoronto.ca/~w3his290/AHollander-Women.Workers.Argentina.pdf. 13 Ibid. 14 Nelson, Barbara J., and Najama Caudhuri. Women and Politics Worldwide. Yale University Press, 1994. Page 62. 15 Ibid. Page 63. 5 questioned political ideologies in countries such as Argentina, Chile, and Brazil and how they affected the politics of their respective countries in the 1950s. She argues that women overcame constraints such as the economy and patriarchal society to create major shifts in political dogma. The value of this source is that it provides in-depth descriptions of feminist movements and their results and thorough analyses of their effects on the political institutions and ideologies of Argentina. It explains the challenges women overcame and follows a descriptive timeline of women’s goals, initial entrance into politics, and their effects. It also analyzes women’s political movements in other Latin American countries, providing a comparison of various movements to contextualize the successes and failures in Argentina. However, she studies several Latin American countries, so the information tends to be general and applicable to Latin America as a whole, rather than specific examples of movements in Argentina. Furthermore, a limitation is that Craske’s argument is one-sided, providing evidence of feminist movements’ successes but ignoring their failures or inability to create change. “Women Workers and the Class Struggle: The Case of Argentina” from Latin American Perspectives, Vol. 4 was written by Nancy Hollander, a psychoanalyst in Los Angeles, faculty of the Psychoanalytic Center of California, and professor of Latin American history at California State University. It explains that women’s roles were performing the “feminine” chores of family life and entering the work force only when Argentina’s economy required it, but, after the Peronist movement, women became politically influential and influenced laws that changed the traditional role of Argentinean women. This article is valuable because it directly compares politics from before women’s movements with politics from after. It also explains the gains of the movements as well as the limitations as they related to Argentina’s politics, providing more information for the investigation of women’s effects on Argentina’s political ideologies. The 6 work is limited, however, because it focuses solely on the Peronist movement rather than multiple political movements, limiting the analysis of women’s roles in politics and limiting the time of study to the mid-1950s. D. Analysis of Evidence Many researchers argue that women’s movements were successful in inciting political change. For example, in her analysis of women’s roles during Argentina’s Dirty War, McGary argues that “pressure from women turned out to be a useful asset when combating authoritarian regimes” as they were able to put enough pressure on the military regime to force them to step down from power.16 It is evident that she argues that feminist movements benefitted society and played a key role in Argentina’s transition to democracy. Jaquette also describes the successes of feminist movements in creating political equality, explaining that women helped create genderequality laws for political participation that set the basis for continued improvements throughout the years.17 Their ability to influence such laws shows that Argentinean feminist movements were important in reducing gender disparity in the country’s politics. In addition, Argentina ranks highest of the Latin American countries in terms of women in the senate, with 36% of the senate consisting of women.18 Such evidence suggests that feminist movements were successful in increasing women’s power in politics. Furthermore, arguably one of the most important political changes women procured through feminist movements in the mid-1900s was the right for women to vote. During the 1950s, as women were introducing quotas into the government, 16 McGary, Alyssa. “The Impact of Women’s Movements of the Democratic Transition in Chile and Argentina.” University for Peace & Conflict, September 7, 2009. http://www.monitor.upeace.org/archive.cfm?id_article=646. 17 Jaquette, Jane S. Feminist Agendas and Democracy in Latin America. Durham: Duke University Press, 2009. 18 Htun, Mala. “Women in Political Power in Latin America.” In Women and Political Power in Latin America, 1– 12. Stockholm: International IDEA, 2002. 7 they played an important part in “denouncing the dictatorship” and furthering women’s political participation.19 Additionally, others claim that despite societal limitations, women’s movements had significant effects on Argentina’s politics. Feminist dialogues were often publicly debated and faced much disapproval, however, Argentinean women succeeded in changing public opinion of the patriarchal society against women in power. For example, many “publics say they are willing to vote for qualified women and believe that women do [handle] a range of problems and issues” better than men, and they have made parties that acknowledge women’s rights.20 Another obstacle for Argentinean feminist movements occurred when they worked internationally with groups from the U.S. because they considered themselves the movement’s “natural” leaders. They did, however, work together successfully and influenced UN Charters as well as their respective countries’ politics.21 Moreover, professor of Latin American History Nancy Hollander explains that Argentinean “ideology…define[d] domestic work as inherently ‘feminine’” and that “women [were] involved in the production and reproduction of…life.”22 She then describes how, despite such anti-feminist public attitude, women worked their way up through the social classes/statuses until they received rights like the right to vote and hold office. Hollander’s analysis supports that despite difficulties, women’s movements changed the country’s politics in that they created a greater understanding of women’s inequality in society and politics and need for equal rights. 19 Dahlerup, Drude, ed. Women, Quotas and Politics. New York: Routledge, 2006. Htun, Mala. “Women in Political Power in Latin America.” In Women and Political Power in Latin America, 1– 12. Stockholm: International IDEA, 2002. 21 Miller, Francesca. Latin American Women and the Search for Social Justice. Hanover: University Press of New England, 1991. 22 Hollander, Nancy Caro. “Women Workers and the Class Struggle: The Case of Argentina.” Sage Publications, Inc., n.d. http://www.erin.utoronto.ca/~w3his290/A-Hollander-Women.Workers.Argentina.pdf. 20 8 Nonetheless, some argue that movements were ineffective and unable to overcome obstacles that limited their influences. Craske explains that despite women’s movements against authoritarianism, Argentina’s politics still underrepresents women, arguing that the economy heavily restrains women's political participation.23 Also, Jane Jaquette explains that after feminist movements transitioned Argentina to a democracy, society “relegated them to traditional roles and limited their political participation.” She also asks if “women's demobilization [is] a consequence of the women's own political discourse;”24 Jaquette argues that feminist movements did not play major roles in Argentina’s politics because even when they were able to create change, society belittled them again. Las Madres de la Plaza de Mayo exemplify a similar ineffectuality because they helped overthrow the military regime, yet never obtained information about their “disappeared” kin.25 These show that some feminist movements failed to reform Argentinean politics. E. Conclusion Argentinean feminist movements from the 1950s had various effects on Argentina’s politics and government in terms of the way it was run, most notably initiating the move to democracy, and on the role citizens, especially women, played in politics. Women’s movements pressured the military government to step down, beginning the transition to democracy, and they helped sustain the shift by rallying for, and successfully achieving, more participation in politics, the right to vote, and more equality. Most of the political changes the feminist movements procured, however, were beneficial specifically to women; they began to hold more positions in the government and made women’s rights a common topic of political discussion. Women’s 23 Craske, Nikki. Women and Politics in Latin America. New Jersey: Rutgers University Press, 1999. Jaquette, Jane. The Women’s Movement in Latin America: Participation and Democracy, Second Edition. Boulder: Westview Press, 1994. Page 109. 25 Miller, Francesca. Latin American Women and the Search for Social Justice. Hanover: University Press of New England, 1991. 24 9 main effects on Argentina were jumpstarting the move to democracy and continuing to push the country toward a democratic government, through laws that allowed more political participation and equality in politics and society. Therefore, Argentinean feminist movements greatly influenced the country’s politics in the 1950s, as they shifted the form of government to a democracy, with the focus on women’s rights. 10 Bibliography Brinkley, Alan. “The Fifties.” The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History, 2014. http://www.gilderlehrman.org/history-by-era/1945-present/fifties. Craske, Nikki. Women and Politics in Latin America. New Jersey: Rutgers University Press, 1999. Dahlerup, Drude, ed. Women, Quotas and Politics. New York: Routledge, 2006. Hollander, Nancy Caro. “Women Workers and the Class Struggle: The Case of Argentina.” In Latin American Perspectives, 4:180–193. Sage Publications, Inc., 1977. http://www.erin.utoronto.ca/~w3his290/A-Hollander-Women.Workers.Argentina.pdf. Htun, Mala. “Women in Political Power in Latin America.” In Women and Political Power in Latin America, 1–12. Stockholm: International IDEA, 2002. Jaquette, Jane S. Feminist Agendas and Democracy in Latin America. Durham: Duke University Press, 2009. Jaquette, Jane. The Women’s Movement in Latin America: Participation and Democracy, Second Edition. Boulder: Westview Press, 1994. Klubock, Thomas Miller. “Las Derechas: The Extreme Right in Argentina, Brazil, and Chile, 1890-1939 (review).” Journal of Interdisciplinary History 31, no. 4 (2001): 669–671. http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/jih/summary/v031/31.4klubock.html Marino, Katherine. “The Long Revolution.” N+1 Magazine, January 25, 2011. http://nplusonemag.com/the-long-revolution. McGary, Alyssa. “The Impact of Women’s Movements of the Democratic Transition in Chile and Argentina.” University for Peace & Conflict, September 7, 2009. http://www.monitor.upeace.org/archive.cfm?id_article=646. Miller, Francesca. Latin American Women and the Search for Social Justice. Hanover: University Press of New England, 1991. Nelson, Barbara J., and Najama Caudhuri. Women and Politics Worldwide. Yale University Press, 1994. Safa, Helen. “Women’s Social Movements in Latin America.” Gender and Society, Vol. 4, No. 3. Sage Publications, Inc. (September 1990).