What effects did Argentinean feminist movements in

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What effects did Argentinean feminist movements in the 1950s have on the country’s politics?
Word Count: 1,823
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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.
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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.
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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
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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.
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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
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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
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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.
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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).
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