Blocking anti-choice conservatives: feminist institutional networks in Mexico and Brazil (2000–2018)

ABSTRACT

How can feminists use their institutional networks to block conservative anti-choice agendas? This question is of paramount importance, given the current context of backlash against gender equity in Latin America and around the world. To answer it, this article conducts a comparative and historically situated analysis of activism for and against abortion rights in Brazil and Mexico (2000–2018). Based on secondary information and in-depth interviews, we argue that the achievements of feminist activism go beyond policy approvals, encompassing a blocking function understood as the capacity to obstruct conservative opposition attacks. Comparison of two diverse cases (Mexico and Brazil) shows that simple “defeat versus success” parameters are not enough to understand the power of feminist networks in resisting conservatives. In order to do so, we need to incorporate an analysis of how feminists stop the advance of conservative agendas.

KEYWORDS:

• State feminism
• pro-choice
• advocacy networks
• abortion
• conservative backlash

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

1 The database of interviews is available at https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/86yuzafjudz4ogxuu5abf/Interview-List.docx?dl=0&rlkey=t19l0yg7rxi7jjmkb01p1y9nw. The interviews are organized by number and name of organization to preserve anonymity (mostly in Brazil), except in cases previously authorized (in Mexico).

2 Pentecostal and neo-Pentecostal are religious strands within Evangelical Christianity.

3 In Mexico, parties lose their registration if they do not receive at least 3 percent of the votes.

4 Patricia Mercado ran in several presidential elections as the candidate for social democratic parties. She co-founded Women in Plural, a network comprising women from all parties.

5 Currently, 11 pro-choice bills are still facing crucial obstacles at the federal legislature (García Martínez 2021).

6 The purpose of the amparo trial is to resolve any controversy that arises from general norms, acts, or omissions of authority that violate recognized human rights and the guarantees granted for their protection by the Mexican Constitution.

7 The Feminine Bench is composed of female federal deputies and is a formal space of political articulation around women’s issues.

8 During this period, the Supreme Court was the stage for profound political disputes that influenced conservative reactions in the legislature, such as the contestation of the Biosafety Law 11.105/2005 (ADI 3510) regarding the scientific use of stem cells, and the recognition of same-sex civil marriage in 2011 (ADI 4277; ADPF 132).

9 Parliamentary Fronts are supra-party institutions in the Brazilian National Congress that aim to exert political influence on policies regarding a specific subject. They have a similar function to caucuses but are not exactly the same thing.

10 “PL” in Portuguese denotes a bill.

11 A recent ordinance (N. 2.282/2020) from the Ministry of Health of Bolsonaro’s government caused another setback to women’s rights by establishing various requirements for legal abortion, including the obligation to notify a police authority of the crime of rape.

12 “PEC” in Portuguese denotes a Constitutional Amendment Proposal.

13 Live on the Instagram of CFEMEA, September 24, 2020.

Additional information

Funding

For the Brazilian interviews, we received financial resources from the Project CNPQ Number 426882/2016-4. For the Mexican interviews, we received financial support from FLACSO Mexico.

Notes on contributors

Gisela Zaremberg

Gisela Zaremberg is a Professor at the Latin American Faculty of Social Sciences (FLACSO), Mexico, where she coordinates the Master’s program on Public Policy and Gender. She holds a PhD in Research on Social Science with a Mention in Political Science from FLACSO, Mexico, and a Master’s in Social Policy from the University of Buenos Aires, Argentina. Her book Votes, Women and Social Assistance in Peronist Argentina and PRIista Mexico (1947–1964) won the Donna Lee Van Cott Prize for Best Book on Political Institutions in Latin America, by the Latin American Political Institutions Section (LAPIS) of the Latin American Studies Association (LASA). She has published on gender, feminism, conservative backlash, and democratic innovation in several prestigious academic journals including Politics & Gender, the Journal of Politics in Latin America, and the Latin American Research Review.

Debora Rezende de Almeida

Debora Rezende de Almeida is an Associate Professor in the Institute of Political Science at the University of Brasília, Brazil. She is co-coordinator of the research group Resocie (Rethinking the Relationship between Society and the State) at the same university, and co-editor of the Revista Brasileira de Ciência Política. Her PhD thesis, from the Federal University of Minas Gerais, received the Honorable Mention from Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES) in 2012. She was the recipient of the 2016 Best Book Prize, awarded by the Brazilian Political Science Association, for Representação além das eleições. She has published articles on political representation theory and civil society participation and deliberation in journals such as Critical Policy Studies, Politics and Governance, and Representation.