The Relationship Between Women’s Protest Activity and Female Representation in Latin American Democracies
Open Access
Author:
Herman, Mary Treasure
Area of Honors:
International Politics
Degree:
Bachelor of Arts
Document Type:
Thesis
Thesis Supervisors:
Joseph Wright, Thesis Supervisor Dr. Gretchen G Casper, Thesis Honors Advisor
Keywords:
Protests Latin America Women's Movements
Abstract:
Historically, Latin American political culture has been dominated by masculine ideology and figures. However, during times of democratic transition in the region, women have found success in mobilizing and creating movements to effect change. This study seeks to examine how these movement activities, specifically popular protest and demonstrations, translate into women’s representation in political institutions in the established democracy. To evaluate this relationship two hypotheses are presented. One states that higher levels of protest participation increase the level of representation in democratic institutions. The other asserts that in countries with protest activity on two different ideological fronts, there will be stronger representation in democratic institutions. These hypotheses arise from examination of existing research that finds movements to be influential in creating a new identity for women as political actors. Utilizing both a qualitative and empirical analysis of four selected cases – Argentina, Brazil, Chile, and Mexico – the results for these two hypotheses were mixed. However, this conclusion could potentially be attributed to a gap in existing data tracking protests and the fact that this study examined of only one facet of women’s movements. This creates the opportunity for further study of both the level of protest activity and the evolution of women as political actors in the region.
