Women in Contemporary Mexican Politics.

By Victoria E. Rodríquez. Austin: University of Texas Press, 2003. 334p. $50.00 cloth, $22.95 paper.

Publishers' exaggerated book jacket claims regarding the originality of the author's contribution to knowledge have often provided reviewers with witty—if unfair—opening remarks and a hook on which to hang their first paragraph. When we consider the amount of literature available on Mexican politics and the number of books that are published on women and politics or just on women and politics in Latin America, it does seem remarkable that no full book-length study has appeared on women in Mexico. However, Victoria E. Rodríquez admirably works to fill that gap, and her book fulfills the publisher's claim that it offers “the first comprehensive analysis” of the way in which Mexican women have made use of new opportunities to participate in the political process.

Focusing on the relationship between women and the political system, Rodríquez analyzes the ways in which women, long dramatically underrepresented in—if not to say all but absent from—the Mexican political elite, have increasingly emerged as key political actors over the last two decades. As she notes, despite their near exclusion from high-level appointed and elected positions, women are increasingly influential in policymaking. This influence springs from their participation in nongovernmental organizations and local and national social movements, as well as their activity in the electoral process as voters, electoral observers, campaign managers, participants in demonstrations and marches, and candidates for internal party positions and public office.

In order to explain how it is that Mexican women are increasingly active in movement and in party politics but remain grossly underrepresented in formal elected or appointed office—or, as she puts it, why women have been active in civil society while remaining marginal players in formal politics—Rodríquez draws on a sample that includes women from a full range of political parties, all regions of Mexico, various arenas of political activity, different levels of government (federal, state, and local), and all three branches of government.

Drawing on her interviews with these politically active women, Rodríquez analyzes the socioeconomic changes in Mexico (such as economic downturns and shifts in labor-force participation and household composition) that have encouraged women's participation, and she identifies the principal obstacles that continue to impede their insertion into political life. She looks at the education and family background of female politicians, how they came to power, which, if any, offices they have held, what kinds of alliances they have developed along gender lines, and the policy agendas they advance. Much like the research on Mexican political elites conducted in decades past by Roderic Camp and by Peter Smith—work which inevitably focused on male politicians—Rodríquez's survey of female political activists and officeholders centers on their place of origin, age, and generational differences, socioeconomic status, education, career paths, and parental influence. Notably, however, the author emphasizes a category, “spouses and children,” that would have been largely, although not entirely, irrelevant to the earlier work of her male colleagues.

Along the way, Rodríquez explores the link among the electoral reforms of the last quarter century, the overall process of transition to democracy in Mexico, and the emergence of women as political actors. She also provides a useful chapter-long summary of the history of the Mexican women's movement. This she traces from its origins in the soldaderas who participated in the Mexican Revolution through to the current Fox administration's incorporation of gender in official discourse and its creation of specific institutions “targeted” at women and the family, such as the National Women's Program.

However, to the extent that Rodríquez emphasizes how shockingly few Mexican women are involved in politics, the reader wants to know: compared with whom? When she notes the “dramatic underrepresentation” of Mexican women in high-level appointed and elected positions (p. 4), or that “only a handful” have occupied the most prominent political positions (p. 6), the reader expects to find comparative data that would highlight the contrast not only between Mexican women and men but also with women in other, comparable political systems. To be sure, in Chapter 4, she discusses the percentages of women worldwide in national legislatures, cabinet positions, state governorships, national and local legislatures, and other political positions. Unfortunately, the way in which these data are presented is less than useful and persuasive. Many of the comparisons are between the U.S. and Mexican political systems, and while it is interesting to know that Ireland, Latvia, Panama, Saint Lucia, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh have all been governed by women (while Mexico and the United States have not), this information does little to illuminate what we really want to know about the structure of political opportunity for women in Mexico. What we need to know is how Mexico stacks up against countries with similar levels of socioeconomic development and similar cultural and historical backgrounds—in short, with other relatively well-off and advanced countries in Latin America.

Fortunately, while the comparative references to other political systems may be less than telling, Rodríquez's interviewees provide her some key clues as to why the emergence of Political Woman has taken so long in Mexico. Asked what obstacles they had faced, her subjects mention a range of problems that are “very similar to the structural and personal barriers experienced by women worldwide” (p. 45), such as sexism, family opposition, and the extra burden of domestic responsibilities. However, they also underscore the degree to which the systemic corruption of the Mexican political system during seven decades of one-party rule, and the tremendous risks run by anyone courageous enough to buck this system, created an environment that discouraged women's participation.

Overall, Women in Contemporary Mexican Politics is a well-written, carefully researched book offering us the promised “comprehensive analysis” that has long been lacking, along with predictions for Mexican women's increased future participation that we have to hope will be borne out.