By Raquel López-Portillo Maltos *
While experts consider misogyny as a feature of contemporary authoritarian governments, the use of feminism as a rhetorical tool by populist leaders has not been explored as much. Some of the most influential studies on the relationship between populism and gender equality uphold that both concepts are incompatible by nature, regardless of whether we are talking about left-wing or right-wing regimes. While this may be clearer with right-wing populists -due to their approach to the role of women, family values and religious institutions- it may appear trickier when exploring the left’s positions on gender, given that they usually enlist representation, reproductive rights, and distributive justice as priorities.
In Mexico, President Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO) clearly sees feminist policies as a powerful rhetorical tool. A self-proclaimed “humanist”, AMLO has said in more than one occasion that his “Fourth Transformation” movement gives priority to gender equality. The President frequently talks about promoting gender parity in Mexico’s legislative bodies, naming women to high-level government positions and committing to a Feminist Foreign Policy (FFP).
However, these talking points have been eclipsed by the Mexican President’s own words and actions. On numerous occasions, AMLO has downplayed gender violence in Mexico and has demonized feminist movements. He has blamed former “neoliberal” administrations for the current levels of violence and has said that feminist activists are linked to the Mexican opposition. What is true however is that the President’s policies have not decreased violence rates nor have bridged inequality gaps in Mexican society. The use of feminist rhetoric is simply not enough to hide the deeply entrenched sexist culture in Mexico that seemingly is behind the unstoppable gender violence wave of the past decade.
The AMLO’s government commitment to a Feminist Foreign Policy (FFP) may attract some international attention but reality shows that, as the Japanese proverb goes, darkness reigns at the foot of the lighthouse. When Mexico first adopted its FFP in 2020, the government outlined five main goals: 1) to implement a foreign policy with a gender perspective, 2) gender parity within the Foreign Affairs Ministry 3) to end gender violence inside the Ministry, 4) to give visibility to women, and 5) to follow an intersectional approach.
This set of goals by itself shows the distance between Mexico’s FFP goals compared to other countries that have adopted it. In France, Sweden or Canada, FFP focuses on how to strengthen rights, increasing the allocation of resources, and promoting the representation of women and girls. Meanwhile in Mexico, the very fact that its FFP goals focus so much in improving the situation of women inside the Foreign Ministry shows the long way to go.
There is little-to-no official data to determine how successful has Mexico’s FFP been since its implementation in early 2020. Thanks to a report by Mexico-based collective Internacional Feminista we can get a brief yet disappointing glimpse at its results. Based on freedom of information requests presented before the Mexican Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the group highlights three significant findings: 1) there is no record of the total share of women employed in the Foreign Affairs Ministry which means that gender parity cannot be measured 2) only 8 percent of Ambassadors in the Mexican Foreign Service are women and 3) between 2018 and 2021, the Ministry’s ethics committee received 8 complaints of gender-based violence.
Overall, these numbers speak of serious deficiencies. As with any long-term strategy, it would be clueless to expect a radical structural transformation to deep-rooted problems in just two years. However, Mexico has failed to implement several actions and not doing so has put into question the commitment to a groundbreaking FFP.
Institutionally, Mexico has a unique opportunity to contribute to this issue through international bodies, particularly as a current non-permanent member of the UN Security Council (UNSC) and as co-chair of the council’s Informal Expert Group on Women, Peace, and Security. However, Mexico’s participation in this body have fallen short so far. Most recently, Mexico failed to sign the UN’s Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) statement condemning the impact of Russia’s ‘aggression’ on Ukrainian women and girls. It is hard to think how an FFP approach cannot commit to a simple gesture in favor of peace.
Through international collaboration, the Mexican government could have a positive impact for women in Mexico on pressing issues such as security. Despite not having formally adopted an FFP, the Biden administration created a Gender Policy Council which seeks to engage with the UN, the G7, and various countries to advance gender equality. Mexico could foster dialogue with this group inside the White House to fill in the gaps in the U.S.-Mexico relationship in terms of gender-equality in security policies. This goal could be leveraged through the recently announced Mexico-US Bicentennial Framework for Security, Public Health, and Safe Communities. Bilateral collaboration through these frameworks could address issues like the disproportionate impact migration has on women and girls. Specifically, Mexico and the US could collaborate in tackling two urgent topics: addressing gender-based violence as a migration root cause and mitigating sexual violence that women and girls face along their journey.
As the first country in the Global South to adopt an FFP, Mexico is missing an opportunity to engage with neighbor countries in Latin America. If intersectionality is truly one of the Mexican FFP’s goals, leading these regional efforts would not only benefit local feminist movements but would also contribute to debunking Western-centric views and standards for which FFP has been criticized. The new government in Chile could be a natural first ally in this quest. With a new administration under the leadership of President Gabriel Boric, an openly self-proclaimed feminist, Chile has its first a majority-female cabinet including the nation’s first female Interior Minister in history.
Mexico’s strong feminist protests have made clear that the demands for social justice and an end to gender violence will not cease. However, political will remains one of the biggest challenges. More and more, the lives and security of women are deeply shaped by global changes, hence the urgency to incorporate a feminist approach to foreign policy. But as long as gender equality demands are not genuinely addressed, Mexico’s FFP will be a mere nice add-on to populist promises.
* Raquel López-Portillo Maltos is a human rights and gender equality specialist. She is a strategic regional analyst for Latin America, and member of COMEXI’s Young Professionals Program. The US-Mexico Foundation, a binational non-profit organization dedicated to fostering bilateral cooperation and improving the understanding between the United States and Mexico by activating key people in the relationship that once were dormant. Twitter: @usmexfound
