scholarly journals Presidentas Rise: Consequences for Women in Cabinets?

2016 ◽  
Vol 58 (3) ◽  
pp. 3-25 ◽  
Author(s):  
Catherine Reyes-Housholder
Keyword(s):  
Latin America ◽  
Latin American ◽  
Women's Representation ◽  
Original Dataset ◽  
Women’S Representation ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Empirical Implications

AbstractSince 1999, women have democratically won the presidency eight times in Latin America and have named hundreds of ministers. This study argues that under certain conditions,presidentasare more likely than male presidents to improve women's cabinet representation. Two mechanisms,presidentamandates and gendered networks, appear to drive the relationship. Furthermore, because the pool of ministerial candidates is shallower for women than for men,presidentasare most likely to advance women's representation in cabinets at the beginning of their term and for “feminine” ministries. A case study of Michelle Bachelet's 2006 ministerial appointments reveals initial evidence for the argument. Empirical implications are then tested with an original dataset of 1,908 ministers of all democratically elected Latin American presidents since 1999. Model results are consistent with the theory thatpresidentasare most likely to “make a difference” when they are least constrained by the supply of female ministerial candidates.

An Introduction to Gender and Representation in Latin America

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Leslie A. Schwindt-Bayer
Keyword(s):  
Latin America ◽  
Latin American ◽  
Gender Inequality ◽  
Political Representation ◽  
Latin American Politics ◽  
Gender And Politics ◽  
Women's Representation ◽  
Political Crises ◽  
Women’S Representation ◽  
And Gender

In this introductory chapter of Gender and Representation in Latin America, Leslie A. Schwindt-Bayer argues that gender inequality in political representation in Latin America is rooted in institutions and the democratic challenges and political crises facing Latin American countries. She situates the book in two important literatures—one on Latin American politics and democratic institutions, the other on gender and politics—and then explains how the book will explore the ways that institutions and democratic challenges and political crises moderate women’s representation and gender inequality. She introduces the book’s framework of analyzing the causes and consequences of women’s representation, overviews the organization of the volume, and summarizes the main arguments of the chapters.

Gender and Family Ties in Latin American Legislatures

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-25
Author(s):  
Leslie A. Schwindt-Bayer ◽  
Agustín Vallejo ◽  
Francisco Cantú
Keyword(s):  
Latin America ◽  
Empirical Analysis ◽  
Latin American ◽  
Conventional Wisdom ◽  
Gender Quotas ◽  
Women's Representation ◽  
Family Ties ◽  
The Past ◽  
Women’S Representation ◽  
Gender Similarities

Abstract Are women disproportionately more likely than men to have family ties in politics? We study this question in Latin America, where legacies have been historically common, and we focus specifically on legislatures, where women's representation has increased dramatically in many countries. We hypothesize that, counter to conventional wisdom, women should be no more likely than men to have ties to political families. However, this may vary across legislatures with and without gender quotas. Our empirical analysis uses data from the Parliamentary Elites of Latin America survey. We find more gender similarities than differences in legislators’ patterns of family ties both today and over the past 20 years. We also find that women are more likely to have family ties than men in legislatures without gender quotas, whereas this difference disappears in legislatures with quotas.

Gender and Representation in Latin America

2018 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Latin America ◽  
Gender Equality ◽  
Latin American ◽  
Gender Inequality ◽  
Political Institutions ◽  
Political Representation ◽  
Women's Representation ◽  
Political Crises ◽  
Women’S Representation ◽  
And Gender

In the past thirty years, women’s representation and gender equality has developed unevenly in Latin America. Some countries have experienced large increases in gender equality in political offices, whereas others have not, and even within countries, some political arenas have become more gender equal whereas others continue to exude intense gender inequality. These patterns are inconsistent with explanations of social and cultural improvements in gender equality leading to improved gender equality in political office. Gender and Representation in Latin America argues instead that gender inequality in political representation in Latin America is rooted in institutions and the democratic challenges and political crises facing Latin American countries and that these challenges matter for the number of women and men elected to office, what they do once there, how much power they gain access to, and how their presence and actions influence democracy and society more broadly. The book draws upon the expertise of top scholars of women, gender, and political institutions in Latin America to analyze the institutional and contextual causes and consequences of women’s representation in Latin America. It does this in part I with chapters that analyze gender and political representation regionwide in each of five different “arenas of representation”—the presidency, cabinets, national legislatures, political parties, and subnational governments. In part II, it provides chapters that analyze gender and representation in each of seven different countries—Argentina, Chile, Costa Rica, Uruguay, Mexico, Brazil, and Colombia. The authors bring novel insights and impressive new data to their analyses, helping to make this one of the most comprehensive books on gender and political representation in Latin America today.

scholarly journals Women’s Political Activism and Civic Engagement in Latin America

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tiffany Barnes ◽  
Victoria Beall ◽  
Gregory Saxton ◽  
Dakota Thomas
Keyword(s):  
Latin America ◽  
Latin American ◽  
Political Activism ◽  
Contentious Politics ◽  
The State ◽  
Women's Representation ◽  
Political Actors ◽  
Women’S Representation ◽  
Latin American Region ◽  
The Many

Under the authoritarian regimes that dominated the 1950s to the 1980s, during the regional wave of democratization, and as citizens of new democracies, women have been instrumental political actors in many facets of politics in the Latin American region. Due to the many ways women are involved in politics, academic studies of the role of gender in contentious politics are equally varied, encompassing disciplines such as political science, sociology, and anthropology. Women engage in politics both inside and outside the state in many different ways. In this bibliography, we are focused on women’s political activism outside the state and women’s engagement as citizens. Whereas the study of women’s representation in government focuses on women as elites, this bibliography focuses on political activism from non-state actors, such as social movements, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), opinion leaders, and grassroots leaders, as well as political engagement in terms of citizens’ participation. For more information on women in formal political roles, see the separate Oxford Bibliographies article Women’s Representation in Governmental Office in Latin America.

scholarly journals WOMEN’S REPRESENTATION AND DEMOCRATIC CONSOLIDATION IN LATIN AMERICA

2016 ◽  
Vol 9 (19) ◽  
pp. 49-71
Author(s):  
Leslie Schwindt-Bayer
Keyword(s):  
Latin America ◽  
Latin American ◽  
Political Representation ◽  
National Level ◽  
Original Data ◽  
Legislative Politics ◽  
Women's Representation ◽  
Women’S Representation ◽  
National Legislatures ◽  
Latin American Countries

A consolidated representative democracy requires representation of all citizens—including women. Yet, most Latin American countries fall short of gender equality in legislative representation at the national level. In this paper, I analyze women’s representation in Latin America asking three questions:  What does women’s representation in Latin America look like? Why does it look that way? And, what are the consequences of women’s representation for legislative politics and democracy in Latin America? I answer these questions drawing on recent research conducted on women’s representation and present original data from my research on women’s representation in Latin America. I conclude that women’s representation in national legislatures has increased over time in just about every country but to varying degrees. Women’s representation today continues to vary widely across the region. The primary explanation for this is the nature of electoral institutions in Latin American countries—specifically, the magnitude of electoral districts, gender quota laws, party control over their ballots. The benefits of including women in national legislatures are myriad but include most importantly greater attention to women’s issues in the legislative arena. Yet, challenges still persist for women in political office, specifically, their continued lack of access to real political power. These obstacles must be addressed for women to attain full political representation in Latin American democracies, and thus, for Latin American democracies to be fully consolidated.

Capitalism and the State in Latin America

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Esteban Torres ◽  
Carina Borrastero
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Latin America ◽  
Social Inequality ◽  
Latin American ◽  
The State ◽  
American Sociology ◽  
The 1950S ◽  
The Relationship

This article analyzes how the research on the relation between capitalism and the state in Latin America has developed from the 1950s up to the present. It starts from the premise that knowledge of this relation in sociology and other social sciences in Latin America has been taking shape through the disputes that have opposed three intellectual standpoints: autonomist, denialist, and North-centric. It analyzes how these standpoints envision the relationship between economy and politics and how they conceptualize three regionally and globally growing trends: the concentration of power, social inequality, and environmental depletion. It concludes with a series of challenges aimed at restoring the theoretical and political potency of the autonomist program in Latin American sociology.

scholarly journals The Influence of Government Effectiveness and Corruption on the High Levels of Homicide in Latin America

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (5) ◽  
pp. 172
Author(s):  
Spencer P. Chainey ◽  
Gonzalo Croci ◽  
Laura Juliana Rodriguez Forero
Keyword(s):  
Economic Development ◽  
Latin America ◽  
Latin American ◽  
International Variation ◽  
Government Effectiveness ◽  
Latin American Region ◽  
Socio Economic Development ◽  
Structural Variables ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Latin America Region

Most research that has examined the international variation in homicide levels has focused on structural variables, with the suggestion that socio-economic development operates as a cure for violence. In Latin America, development has occurred, but high homicide levels remain, suggesting the involvement of other influencing factors. We posit that government effectiveness and corruption control may contribute to explaining the variation in homicide levels, and in particular in the Latin America region. Our results show that social and economic structural variables are useful but are not conclusive in explaining the variation in homicide levels and that the relationship between homicide, government effectiveness, and corruption control was significant and highly pronounced for countries in the Latin American region. The findings highlight the importance of supporting institutions in improving their effectiveness in Latin America so that reductions in homicide (and improvements in citizen security in general) can be achieved.

scholarly journals A historical analysis of central bank independence in Latin America: the Colombian experience, 1923-2008

2010 ◽  
Vol 28 (1) ◽  
pp. 83-102 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adolfo Meisel ◽  
Juan D. Barón
Keyword(s):  
Latin America ◽  
Central Bank ◽  
Historical Analysis ◽  
Central Bank Independence ◽  
Price Stability ◽  
Monetary Policies ◽  
The Relationship

AbstractThis paper explores the relationship between central bank independence and inflation in Latin America, using the experience of Colombia (1923-2008) as a case study. Since its creation, in 1923, Colombia’s central bank has undergone several reforms that have changed its objectives and degree of independence. Between 1923 and 1951, it was private and independent, with a legal commitment to price stability. In 1962, monetary responsibilities were divided between a government-dominated monetary board, in charge of monetary policies, and the central bank, which carried them out. In the early 1990s, the bank recovered its independence and its focus on price stability. Inflation varied substantially during these subperiods. Our analysis suggests that the central bank independence, combined with a commitment to price stability, renders the best results in terms of price stability.

scholarly journals Taming the Tiger: Voting Rights and Political Instability in Latin America

2004 ◽  
Vol 46 (2) ◽  
pp. 29-58 ◽  
Author(s):  
Josep M. Colomer
Keyword(s):  
Latin America ◽  
Latin American ◽  
Empirical Data ◽  
Formal Model ◽  
Political Instability ◽  
Voting Rights ◽  
Historical Survey ◽  
Electoral Rules ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Different Levels

AbstractThis article discusses the relationship between certain institutional regulations of voting rights and elections, different levels of electoral participation, and the degree of political instability in several Latin American political experiences. A formal model specifies the hypotheses that sudden enlargements of the electorate may provoke high levels of political instability, especially under plurality and other restrictive electoral rules, while gradual enlargements of the electorate may prevent much electoral and political innovation and help stability. Empirical data illustrate these hypotheses. A historical survey identifies different patterns of political instability and stability in different countries and periods, which can be compared with the adoption of different voting rights regulations and electoral rules either encouraging or depressing turnout.

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