65 anniversary of women's suffrage in Mexico

65 years ago, Mexican women went to the polls for the first time to participate in the federal elections. As early as 1887, the Mexican feminist newspaper Las Violetas del Anáhuac claimed social and civil equality between men and women, and with it the right to vote. However, it was a few years later when different revolutionary organizations that advocated the political participation of women, such as Las Hijas de Cuauhtén arose. These organizations spread the idea of ​​female suffrage among the population. The women, who had been relegated to housework, strongly demanded their rights in a revolutionary context in Mexico.

In 1923 the First National Feminist Congress takes place in the country. Its main demand was the right to vote and the candidacy for public office. That same year, in Yucatan, a state recognized as a pioneer in women’s rights in the country, a woman is elected deputy to the Local Congress. Sadly, she was forced to resign due to the social pressures she suffered, making it clear that in gender equality there was much to be achieved.

After years of struggle, in 1953 the women’s vote was consolidated in Mexico, being the last country in Latin America in doing so. That year, Mexicans were considered citizens in their constitution. Until then, women were denied not only the right to vote, but the right to be present in any area of ​​public life.

Finally, on July 3, 1955, Mexican women went to vote for the first time in federal elections. Today we remember this day as an advance in the recognition of the fundamental rights of women. However, gender equality remains a current proclamation. Not only in Mexico, but all over the world, women continue to be those who mostly carry unpaid work, those who are most in charge of care tasks, those who are most at risk of falling into poverty and who are most vulnerable to be deprived of education worldwide. For this reason, a feminist education based on equality is necessary for the awareness and defense of human rights.