The challenges of reaching and holding office. Mexican women in the twenty-first century

Abstract

The challenges of achieving and exercising a political position: Mexican women at the dawn of the 21st Century. The purpose of this article is to motivate reflection about the challenges of achieving and exercising a political position faced by Mexican women, in the context of a political culture in which authoritarism prevails along with antidemocratic leaderships, both of which handicap women´s rights to exercise full citizenship. In this regard, the present article aims to generate concern about two determining moments for women in their way to exercise political positions: on first account, the challenges to achieve a political position of popular election within the local government (mayor, síndico, regidor). On second account, those challenges emerged on the exercising of such position. An interesting portion of the present article is composed of testimonies given by various women in such positions about their experiences in local politics, from various states and political parties.