Women’s Suffrage in Argentina and Peru: a contrast of comparisons

• In Event: The Rights of Women- defending values and opening pathways

Abstract

In Peru an in Argentina, the timing of women’s suffrage legislation was a matter of opportunism- a government emerged that was able and willing to adopt feminism into their agenda. For this opportunity to exist, however, certain conditions had to be met. First, women had to have the opportunity to participate in a legitimate electoral system, one that recognized their contributions to the modern economy as workers. Second, the ideological arguments in favor of political participation had to be well articulated and publicized. Third, a political movement that could effectively make use of female voters had to take control.
By 1947, these conditions had been met in both nations, yet Argentina moved first in enacting women’s suffrage. Both nations had restored electoral systems after World War II, and there was a climate conducive to reform. The women’s suffrage issue, which had come close to resolution in the 1930s, now appeared poised for success. Yet while Juan Perón’s government embraced suffrage and mobilized women on behalf of the movement, the APRA-dominated Peruvian government, riven by internal divisions, failed to act, providing Gen Manuel Odría with the opportunity to appropriate the issue. Towards the end of his regime, Odría authorized women’s voting rights, hoping to capitalize on their support as Perón had done.

Author

• Gregory S Hammond, Austin Peay State University