As the Republican party nominates its first-ever female vice presidential candidate (say what you will about the nominee herself) and congratulates itself on its historic step, I couldn’t help but think of “Pumpsie” Green. Green was the highly celebrated, first black baseball player to join the Boston Red Sox in 1959 -– a full 12 years after Jackie Robinson joined the Dodgers. The Red Sox were, in fact, the last team in the major leagues to integrate –- hardly a feat worth celebrating. Relevance? When it comes to female vice presidents, the Republican party in the US may not be the Red Sox, but it is certainly well behind the curve set by our Latin American neighbors (obligatory tip of the hat, of course, to the US Democrats and Geraldine Ferraro).
After looking into the vice-presidential history of each country in the region, I was surprised to discover that in total, no less than 15 females have already served as vice presidents in Latin America (not even including the Caribbean) -- two of whom later ascended to the presidency. A total of eight women have already served as heads of state in the region (two, in Chile and Argentina, are currently in office). Isabel Peron of Argentina, in 1974, was the first democratic female head of state in the world. (Did you know that? I didn't.)
Now, it’s not necessarily the case the women’s’ movement has gone farther in Latin America than in the US (this is probably, in fact, not the case), but it seems like there is certainly something going on in their politics. 12 countries in the region have adopted minimum quota laws for fielding of female candidates in national elections, and the numbers of females in high political office are much larger than in nearly every other corner of the world.
After looking into the vice-presidential history of each country in the region, I was surprised to discover that in total, no less than 15 females have already served as vice presidents in Latin America (not even including the Caribbean) -- two of whom later ascended to the presidency. A total of eight women have already served as heads of state in the region (two, in Chile and Argentina, are currently in office). Isabel Peron of Argentina, in 1974, was the first democratic female head of state in the world. (Did you know that? I didn't.)
Now, it’s not necessarily the case the women’s’ movement has gone farther in Latin America than in the US (this is probably, in fact, not the case), but it seems like there is certainly something going on in their politics. 12 countries in the region have adopted minimum quota laws for fielding of female candidates in national elections, and the numbers of females in high political office are much larger than in nearly every other corner of the world.
Thus, as the Republican party’s convention this week celebrates American exceptionalism, the irony of its "historic" nomination in the context of our own democratic neighborhood was not lost on me.
Sources: Guide2Womenleaders.com, Wikipedia, IDB, Inter-American Dialogue
Sources: Guide2Womenleaders.com, Wikipedia, IDB, Inter-American Dialogue
4 comments:
Uh, at the very least, there was one prior female head of a democratic state, Indira Gandhi, who started as Prime Minister in the 1960s. Or do prime ministers not count?
Nope. I wasn't including prime ministers. And I'm no expert on the subject, but it seems that Peron is considered the first female head of state (google doesn't lie!) This is probably debatable. Maybe some figure that PM is not a popularly elected position, and in parliamentary systems, not always the only top-level figure.
In any event, of course, Gandhi is worth a mention.
I do not diminish the accomplishments of these women, but it is worth noting that many of the women leaders in Latin America have politically powerful family (e.g. Chamorro, Rosenberg Jagan, Moscoso, Kirchner). Electoral systems and quota laws may also factor into this phenomenon.
Also, In Israel Golda Meir was elected as Prime Minister in 1969. There, the Prime Minister is the head of state if I'm not mistaken.
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