Slowly but surely women in Latin America have ascended the political ladder and have become leaders, ministers, and heads of state. Argentina’s Cristina Kirchner and Chile’s Michelle Bachelet are two women who are currently presidents of their respective countries.
In February 1997, Rosalía Arteaga was named as Ecuador’s first female president. Amidst great political instability, however, her achievement was diminished since she served one of the shortest terms ever for a head of state: two days.
On February 6 1997…President Abdalá Bucaram was declared unfit to govern by Congress. Arteaga and congressional leader Fabián Alarcón became locked in a dispute over who should succeed Bucaram, as the constitution was vague on the issue…On February 9, however, Arteaga, who had insisted as vice-president she should become president, was sworn in instead…Two days later, however, on February 11, with the support of Congress and the army, Alarcón was sworn in again and Arteaga resigned.The Spanish-language video below shows Arteaga interviewed a decade after her 48-hour presidency. After failing to regain the presidency via election in 1998 she left Ecuadorian politics. Arteaga is currently a member of the editorial board of the Encyclopædia Britannica as well as the secretary-general of the Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organization.
Online Sources- britannica.com, Wikipedia, PBS, The Latin Americanist, YouTube
1 comment:
Mrs. Arteaga is recognized here in Ecuador as a competent, honest woman. During her short term, she called a referendum, to ratify her right to assume as president, after the president was ousted of office, but as soon as she left office, the next president voided the call.
Mrs. Arteada continued serving as vicepresident in the administration of Mr. Fabián Alarcón, who was sworn in her place. 2 years later, she ran for president, but didn't do well. After that, she left active politics.
I hope some day we, as ecuadorians, can elect a female president. Actually, in the 2009 election, 2 female politicians are running for office, one of them (Martha Roldós) is the daughter of historical president Jaime Roldós (died in office) and the other (Melba Jácome) we don't know her very vell: she is way in the end of the polls.
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