Latin American Populism

The picture of pre-revolutionary Mexican women was of a woman who had to lived her life constantly in the male shadow. These women were consumed by family life, marriage, and the Catholic Church, and lived silently behind their dominant male counterparts (Soto 31-32). In 1884 (prior to the revolution) the government passed the Mexican Civil Code. It dramatically restricted women's rights at home and at work (Bush and Mumme 351). Soto states that the code "sustains an almost incredible inequality between the conditions of husband and wife, restricts in an exaggerated and arbitrary manner those rights due the woman, and…erases and nullifies her personality" (qtd. Bush and Mumme 351).

Due to the demand of labor occurring in America, industries were at a deficit in workers. This led for young women to be hired to fill the gaps of labor of the deficit. This change went against society’s perception of a woman’s role. Before industries allowed women

The 1930s were a period of many changes in Spain, especially because Francisco Franco started ruling the country and the political problems that arose. Things slowly started changing for women because of the foundation of Mujeres Libres, a female anarchist organization that fought for female rights. Until then, the general view of women was that of Proudhon, which meant that women were to be seen as reproducers whose role was to contribute to the society by taking care of their household and their children . This was especially common in the rural areas of Spain, where women could even be forced into arranged marriages against their will and almost had no say in what happened to them. The main oppressor of La Casa de Bernarda Alba is actually Bernarda, the mother of

Women working men’s jobs were not as welcomed in society as they were in factories. People held on to the belief that women should be house wives and not have to do much in the way of work. The man should provide for the family, and the women should take care of the family. Many of the women who worked were lower class and had to help provide for their families, or were the only providers for their families. Women who worked men’s jobs were looked down upon and thought to be no better than dirt. Although women working in factories were still women, men did not show them the same respect as they did a woman working as a secretary or teacher.

Models for post-revolutionary Latin American government are born of the complex economic and social realities of 17th and 18th century Europe. From the momentum of the Enlightenment came major political rebellions of the elite class against entrenched national monarchies and systems of power. Within this time period of elitist revolt and intensive political restructuring, the fundamental basis for both liberal and conservative ideology was driven deep into Latin American soil. However, as neither ideology sought to fulfill or even recognize the needs or rights of mestizo people under government rule, the initial liberal doctrine pervading Latin American nations perpetuated

There was a social change in which women also fought for suffrage. The populists were pretty much the victims of economic distress and their arguments were founded on the basis of progressive movements. One of the populist failure was that they lost the national election when the farmers united to insist on economic reform.

Being a woman had restrictions in many different areas like voting, education, and professions. One main challenge that women faced during the progressive era was “exclusion from emerging profession” (Brinkley 493). There were many different forms of women’s suffrage movements. Women were concerned about more than just themselves, according to Costain, “women's rights activists are also fundamentally concerned with the advocacy of nonviolence” (Costain). Women wanted more than just jobs, voting, and higher education. They wanted to be seen as equal. They wanted stereotypes such as “the housewife” to stop.

After the Grant Administration Scandal and the intimidation of Political Machines like Tammany Hall, Americans in the 1890s were fed up with the traditional Republican and Democratic parties. The people were ready for change, and from this dissatisfaction, the Populist Party was born. The Populist Party, also call the “People’s Party,” sought to transform the federal government in favor of public interest. The Populist Party helped to bring about change that Americans wanted, and the efforts of this party are still noticeable in today’s government.

While the Populists were able to inspire some more government involvement in the economy with their currency concerns, the Progressives both reformed the government into a less corruptible system and called for more government participation in reducing the growing power of certain industries. Similarly, although the Populists managed to bring attention to the plight of the workers, the Progressives, with their wider range of supporters due to their broader appeal, was able to pass workplace regulations and to organize institutes to help foreigners assimilate into American society. Finally, as the Populists failed to convince the nation to address most of their most basic beliefs and goals, the Progressives succeeded in obtaining government recognition of their side of a long-standing racial dissension. In conclusion, historians are correct in believing that the Populists were less successful than the Progressives in attaining their goals because of the vast differences between the two results of the groups’ reform

In Chronicle of a Death Foretold, the way women have been represented and characterized gives us an idea of how the female gender are treated differently from the male gender as well as children in Latin America during the 1950s. The husbands were given all the authority, also known as machismo, whereas women weren’t allowed to take charge of anything, and were portrayed as weak and impotent.

The idea that a woman’s job is to be a wife and mother is old-fashioned, but not completely out of style. Though these roles require a great deal of talent, resilience, patience, love, and strength, to name a few, they are often underestimated or depicted as simple. Especially in modern times, many women in the United States who stay home to raise a family are viewed as anti-feminists, whereas women in Latin America are not criticized for similar actions. In recent decades, more Latin American women have started to break the mold, daring to be both sexy, and successful in the workforce, while remaining pillars of domestic life.

Machismo, or male chauvinism, is a concept that characterizes many Latin American male behaviors, most importantly those associated with masculinity and pride. This concept, most likely introduced to New Spain by Spanish conquistadors who embodied these traits, was then adopted and integrated as a part of Mexican culture going forward. Because of male masculinity prevailing over feminine traits during the 17th century, misogyny and the oppression of women became a norm in Mexican culture. Struggling to be valued in Mexico, women turned to literature and art to voice their opinions and expose the machismo in Mexican culture. Through literature and art, is where feminism in Mexico arose and is continually strengthen in. This paper will discuss the ways in which Mexican feminist literature and art over time have exposed and challenged machismo, misogyny, and the Mexican patriarchy since the Spanish Conquest.

In her article La Chicana, Elizabeth Martinez exposes a truth for men’s insistence on higher pay. She stated that many women would work in the fields or factories in order to help make money for the household, as a result of low wages. The men often would leave their wives and children not because they did not love them but because the welfare system would be more willing to help a single mother (32-33). Therefore the men sought higher wages in order to wholly provide for their families, so that the wives could stay home and fulfill their womanly duties. Their traditional mentality prevented women from really participating in the Chicano movement. The women were usually delegated jobs such as cleaning, cooking, or child care during meetings. However, some women refused to be held

The perception of inequality was evident in the colonial Spanish America, man belief that women were lacked in capacity to reason as soundly as men. A normal day for European women in the new world was generally characterized by male domination, for example marriage was arranged by the fathers, women never go out except to go church, women didn’t have the right to express their opinions about politic or society issues. Subsequent to all these bad treats European women try to find different ways to escape from man domination and demonstrate their intellectual capacities, for example women used become part of a convent, write in secret their desires and disappointments, and even dress as man to

The purpose of populism is to relief the working class from the exploitation by the privileged elite but many politicians use it as a disguise for their personal benefits.(Miller, 2017) “punishes the least well-off first, exactly the ones who are supposed to benefit from populist policies.” This shows that populism honestly does not work and is not influential; it is just used as make-believe.