ABSTRACT
Women's political participation—as women's movements, voters, and authors of new forms of political action as well as new legislation—has become a significant factor in Latin American politics. This chapter focuses on the changing patterns of women's political participation and their impact on a range of issues. It examines women's politicization using three different frames such as historical frame, social movement frame and political representation. The chapter also examines the successes and failures of two strategies: state feminism, which called for the establishment of women's ministries to institutionalize a women's perspective and the adoption of gender quotas to ensure greater women's representation in national legislatures. It assesses how women's political activism and debates among feminists over goals and strategies are relevant to the ways in which democracy is evolving in the region. A series of regional feminist encuentros reflected the evolving discussions among Latin American feminists on the relationship between feminism, women's movements, and the state.
