Models of female participation in politics

Abstract

This article examines, from a feminist-latinamerican perspective, the constructions of “the feminine” in the discourses of legislators in the province of Jujuy. With this purpose in mind, we dwell into the distinct models of women’s participation in politics emerging from those discourses in the legislative debates for the approval of provincial law no. 5668. Almost 20 years after the promulgation of the national law of female quotas in Argentina (no. 24.012), the provincial law emerges as a result of a process of struggle by various women’s organisations culminating in the presentation of an action against the provincial State. Throughout those years, most provinces acted according to the national initiative and promulgated laws of quotas for their Legislative Bodies. Still, fierce resistance to this process was felt in provinces such as Jujuy; hence the interest in examining the discussion in the legislature of Jujuy. Our analysis draws on the transcripts of the legislative debate on the 25th of November 2010, approaching the constructions of “the feminine” according to the models of women’s participation in politics by Feijoo (1996).