Radical Women in Latin America

Left and Right

Victoria González-Rivera, Karen Kampwirth, Victoria González-Rivera, Karen Kampwirth

• Publisher: Penn State University Press
• Year: 2001
• Print ISBN: 9780271021003
• eBook ISBN: 9780271023755
• Topic: History
• Subtopic: Latin American & Caribbean History
• Index: History

Radical Women in Latin America is a collection of original essays by scholars from a variety of disciplines—anthropology, history, and political science—on the political activism of women from both the left and the right. The stories of these radical women challenge traditional portrayals of men as violent and women as inherently peaceful. This volume forces us to confront the fact that there is no automatic sisterhood among women, even among those of the same class and ethnicity. At the same time, the essays show the similarities that can unite women across immense political divides.

This book analyzes radical women's actions and motivations through four interrelated themes—maternalism, feminism, autonomy, and coalitions between left- and right-wing women—in three Central American countries (Nicaragua, El Salvador, and Guatemala) and three South American countries (Argentina, Brazil, and Chile). The editors and contributors to this volume have done extensive and recent field research in Latin America.

Radical Women in Latin America challenges both stereotypical views of Latin American women as easily manipulated and portrayals of women's activism as inherently progressive. This book will make clear that women are capable of defining their own interests and their political identities, organizing autonomously, and even using violence, if they deem it necessary to pursue their goals.

Table of contents

• Front Cover
• Copyright Page
• Contents
• Acknowledgments
• Introduction
• PART I: RADICAL WOMEN IN CENTRAL AMERICA
• Chronology of Nicaragua
• Chronology of El Salvador
• Chronology of Guatemala
• 1 Somocista Women, Right-Wing Politics, and Feminism in Nicaragua, 1936–1979
• 2 Women in the Armed Struggles in Nicaragua: Sandinistas and Contras Compared
• 3 The Coalicio´n Nacional de Mujeres: An Alliance of Left-Wing Women, Right-Wing Women, and Radical Feminists in Nicaragua
• 4 Right and Left-Wing Women in Post-Revolutionary El Salvador: Feminist Autonomy and Cross-Political Alliance Building for Gender Equality
• 5 A Feminist Reconstruction of Parenthood Within Neoliberal Constraints: La Asociacio´n de Madres Demandantes in El Salvador
• 6 Gender Equality, Democratization, and the Revolutionary Left in Central America: Guatemala in Comparative Context
• PART II: RADICAL WOMEN IN SOUTH AMERICA
• Chronology of Argentina
• Chronology of Brazil
• Chronology of Chile
• 7 Spreading Right-Wing Patriotism, Femininity, and Morality: Women in Argentina, Brazil, and Chile, 1900–1940
• 8 Changing the System from Within? Feminist Participation in the Brazilian Workers’ Party
• 9 Nonpartisanship as a Political Strategy: Women Left, Right, and Center in Chile
• 10 Defending Dictatorship: Conservative Women in Pinochet’s Chile and the 1988 Plebiscite
• Conclusion
• Contributors
• Index
• Back Cover