Hostname: page-component-7c8c6479df-r7xzm Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-03-29T02:01:26.078Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Walking Together, but in Which Direction? Gender Discrimination and Multicultural Practices in Oaxaca, Mexico

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  17 June 2009

Michael S. Danielson
Affiliation:
American University
Todd A. Eisenstadt
Affiliation:
American University

Abstract

This article partly confirms the long-held view that multiculturalism discriminates against women. Indeed, for a majority of cases where multicultural electoral practices were recently recognized in our Oaxaca, Mexico survey sample, women did not participate in elections. However, female respondent participation in leader selection in multicultural communities was actually found to be higher in the few communities where locally established multicultural norms allowed women to serve in leadership roles. We find that while multicultural norms are often—or even usually—discriminatory, ascription to communal norms may actually encourage the participation of women in the few cases where these locally generated norms do not disenfranchise them. We conclude that, contrary to the conventional wisdom, multiculturalism that adheres to universal suffrage and human rights may not be normatively adverse to women's rights, and we argue for “conditional multiculturalism,” that is, recognition of multicultural norms but only if and when these adhere to broadly accepted human rights norms.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © The Women and Politics Research Section of the American Political Science Association 2009

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Alcántara, Liliana. 2005. “Persisten Tradiciones Tribales y Machistas en Comunidades Indígenas; Una Tradición que la Devaluó,” El Universal (Mexico), January 14, 2005.Google Scholar
Anaya Muñoz, Alejandro. 2004. “Explaining the Politics of Recognition of Ethnic Diversity and Indigenous Peoples' Rights in Oaxaca, Mexico.” Bulletin of Latin American Research 23 (4): 414–33.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Anaya Muñoz, Alejandro. 2005. “The Emergence and Development of the Politics of Recognition of Cultural Diversity and Indigenous Peoples' Rights in Mexico: Chiapas and Oaxaca in Comparative Perspective.” Journal of Latin American Studies 37: 585610.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Anaya Muñoz, Alejandro. 2006. Autonomía Indígena, Gobernabilidad y Legitimidad en México. La legalización de los usos y costumbres electorales en Oaxaca. México, D.F.: Universidad Iberoamericana.Google Scholar
Bailón Corres, Jaime. 1999. Pueblos Indios, Elites y Territorio. México, D.F.: El Colegio de México.Google Scholar
Baldez, Lisa. 2007. “Primaries vs. Quotas: Gender and Candidate Nominations in Mexico, 2003.” Latin American Politics and Society 49 (3): 6996.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bartra, Roger. 1997. “Violencias Indigenas.” La Jornada Semanal, August 31. http://www.jornada.unam.mx/1997/08/31/sem-bartra.html (Accessed March 22, 2009).Google Scholar
Benhabib, Seyla. 2002. The Claims of Culture; Equality and Diversity in the Global Era. Princeton: Princeton University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
CONAPO, National Population Council (Consejo Nacional de Poblaciόn). 2001. Índices de Marginación 2000. 1st ed.http://www.conapo.gob.mx/00cifras/2000.htm (Accessed March 20, 2009).Google Scholar
Deere, Carmen Diana, and Magdalena, León. 2003. “The Gender Asset Gap: Land in Latin America.” World Development 31 (6): 925–47.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
EDUCA, Services for an Alternative Education (Servicios para una Educación Alternativa). 2002. Informe: Observacion Electoral en Municipios de Usos y Costumbres, Oaxaca 2001. Oaxaca, Mexico: EDUCA, Comisión Diocesana de Pastoral Social de Oaxaca.Google Scholar
Eisenstadt, Todd. 2004. Courting Democracy in Mexico: Party Strategies and Electoral Institutions. New York: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Eisenstadt, Todd. 2006. “Elections by Customary Law in Oaxaca, Mexico: Expression of Cultural Rights or Violation of Democratic Electoral Norms?” Center for Democracy and Election Management Case Study #1. July.Google Scholar
Eisenstadt, Todd. 2007. “Usos y Costumbres and Post-Electoral Conflicts in Oaxaca, Mexico, 1995–2004: An Empirical and Normative Assessment.” Latin American Research Review 42 (February): 5277.Google Scholar
Eisenstadt, Todd. 2009. “Agrarian Tenure Institutions, Conflict Frames, and Communitarian Identities: The Case of Indigenous Southern Mexico,” Comparative Political Studies 42 (1): 81113.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Eisenstadt, Todd, and Viridiana, Ríos Contreras. 2008. “Privileging Indigenous Autonomy or Weakening the Rule of Law? Customary Law, the State, and Post-Electoral Conflicts in Oaxaca, Mexico.” Typescript.Google Scholar
Ezeilo, Joy Ngozi. 2005. “Feminism and Human Rights at a Crossroads in Africa: Reconciling Universalism and Cultural Relativism.” In Dialogue and Difference: Feminisms Challenge Globalization, ed. Marcos, Sylvia. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 231–52.Google Scholar
Forbis, Melissa M. 2003. “Hacía la Autonomía: Zapatista Women Developing a New World.” In Women of Chiapas: Making History in Times of Struggle and Hope, ed. Eber, Christine and Kovic, Christine. New York and London: Routledge, 231–52.Google Scholar
Gibson, Edward. 2005. “Boundary Control: Subnational Authoritarianism in Democratizing Countries.” World Politics 58 (1): 101–32.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hartmann, Heidi. 1976. “Capitalism, Patriarchy, Job Segregation.” Signs 1 (3): 137–68.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hernández Castillo, Aída. 2001. “Entre el Esencialismo Etnico y la Descalificación Total: La Política de Identidades en México y las Perspectias de las Mujeres.” Memoria 147 (May): 2025.Google Scholar
Hernández Castillo, Aída. 2005. “Hacía una Concepción Multicultural de los Derechos de las Mujeres: Reflexiones desde México.” Presented at the Congress of the Latin American Studies Association (LASA), San Juán, Puerto Rico.Google Scholar
Hernández Díaz, Jorge. 2007a. “Dilemas en la Construccion de Ciudadanias Diferenciadas en un Espacio Multicultural: El Caso de Oaxaca.” In Ciudadanias Diferenciadas en un Estado Multicultural: Los Usos y Costumbres en Oaxaca, ed. Díaz, Jorge Hernández. Mexico, D.F.: Siglo XXI Editores and La Universidad Autonoma Benito Juarez de Oaxaca, 3586.Google Scholar
Hernández Díaz, Jorge. 2007b. “Impacto de la migración en la construcción de ciudadanía y en el sistema de organización política y social en las comunidades campesinas de Oaxaca, México: El caso de San Pedro Cajones en la Sierra de Norte.” Presented at the Congress of the Latin American Studies Association, Montréal, Canada.Google Scholar
IEE Oaxaca State Electoral Institute (Instituto Estatal Electoral). 2003. Base Electoral UYC, 2001. Copy on file with the authors.Google Scholar
INEGI, National Institute of Statistics, Geography and Information Sciences (Instituto Nacional de Estadística, Geografía e Informática). 2001. XII Censo General de Población y Vivienda [XII General Census of Population and Housing]. Aguascalientes: INEGI. CD-ROM.Google Scholar
Inglehart, Ronald, and Barker, Wayne E.. 2000. “Modernization, Cultural Change, and the Persistence of Traditional Values.” American Sociological Review 65: 1951.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Inglehart, Ronald, and Norris, Pippa. 2003. Rising Tide: Gender Equality and Cultural Change Around the World. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2003.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kymlicka, Will. 1999. “Liberal Complacencies.” In Is Multiculturalism Bad for Women? Susan Moller Okin, With Repondents, ed. Cohen, Joshua, Howard, Matthew, and Nussbaum, Martha C.. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 3134.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
León Portilla, Miguel. 1997. “¿Miedo a la autonomía indígena?” La Jornada, August 8. http://www.jornada.unam.mx/1997/08/08/portilla.html (Accessed March 22, 2009).Google Scholar
Mamdani, Mahmood. 2002. When Victims Become Killers—Colonialism, Nativism, and the Genocide in Rwanda. Princeton: Princeton University Press.Google Scholar
Marcos, Sylvia. 2005. “The Borders Within: The Indigenous Women's Movement and Feminism in Mexico.” In Dialogue and Difference: Feminisms Challenge Globalization, ed. Marcos, Sylvia. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 81112.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Molinar, Juán. 1991. “Counting the Number of Parties: An Alternative Index” American Political Science Review 85 (4): 1383–91.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Muttersbauch, Tad. 2002. “Building Co-ops; Constructing Cooperation: Spacial Politics and Development Strategies in a Mexican Village.” Annals of the Association of American Geographers 92 (4): 756–76.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Okin, Susan Moller. 1999. “Is Multiculturalism Bad for Women?” In Is Multiculturalism Bad for Women? Susan Moller Okin, With Respondents, ed. Cohen, Joshua, Howard, Matthew, and Nussbaum, Martha C.. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 924.Google Scholar
Okin, Susan Moller. 2005. “Multiculturalism and Feminism: No Simple Question, No Simple Answers.” In Minorities Within Minorities: Equality, Rights, and Diversity, ed. Spinner-Halev, Avigail Eisenbergand Jeff. New York: Cambridge University Press, 6789.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pollitt, Katha. 1999. “Whose Culture?” In Is Multiculturalism Bad for Women? Susan Moller Okin, With Respondents, ed. Cohen, Joshua, Howard, Matthew, and Nussbaum, Martha C.. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2730.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Posner, Daniel N. 2005. Institutions and Ethnic Politics in Africa. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rajan, Rajeswari Sunder. 2003. The Scandal of the State: Women, Law, and Citizenship in Postcolonial India. Durham and London: Duke University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ramdas, Kavita. 2006. “Feminists and Fundamentalists.” Current History 105 (689): 99104.Google Scholar
Recondo, David. 2007. La política del gatopardo: Multiculturalismo y democracia en Oaxaca. Mexico City: Centro de Investigaciones y Estudios Superiores en Antropología Social (CIESAS).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Reynolds, Andrew. 1999. “Women in the Legislatures and Executives of the World: Knocking at the Highest Glass Ceiling.” World Politics 51 (4): 547–72.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rodriguez, Victoria. 2003. Women in Contemporary Mexican Politics Austin: University of Texas Press.Google Scholar
Taylor, Charles et al. 1994. Multiculturalism: Examining the Politics of Recognition. Princeton: Princeton University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Van Cott, Donna Lee. 2005. From Movements to Parties in Latin America: The Evolution of Ethnic Politics. New York: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Velasquez, Maria Cristina. 2003. “¿Mujeres Indígenas Gobernando en Municipios de Oaxaca?Mexico Indígena 5 (2): 2431.Google Scholar
Veléz Ascencio, Octavio. 2001a. “Demandan al IEE Respeto a la Eleccion de Santa Catarina Minas.” Noticias, October 24.Google Scholar
Veléz Ascencio, Octavio. 2001b. “Requieren a CEDH Hacer Respetar Voto de la Mujer en Santa Catarina Minas.” Noticias, October 28.Google Scholar
World Health Organization. 2008. Eliminating Female Genital Mutilation—An Interagency Statement. Washington, DC: World Health Organization.Google Scholar
Yashar, Deborah J. 1999. “Democracy, Indigenous Movements, and the Postliberal Challenge in Latin America.” World Politics 52 (1): 76104.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Yashar, Deborah J. 2005. Contesting Citizenship in Latin America: The Rise of Indigenous Movements and the Postliberal Challenge. New York: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar

List of Interviews

Alcántara, Jorge Cruz, Director of Usos y Costumbres Elections, State Electoral Institute, Oaxaca, interview in Oaxaca, Oaxaca, June 19, 2007.Google Scholar
Cruz Bautista, Jeronimo. Retired teacher and volunteer at the Centro de Desarrollo Comunitario de San Juán Mixtepec, A.C. (Center of Community Development), interview in San Juán Mixtepec, Oaxaca, May 24, 2007.Google Scholar
Cruz Iriarte, Rodrigo. Staff representative of the Oaxaca State Human Rights Commission, interview in Oaxaca, Oaxaca, August 6, 2008.Google Scholar
Cruz Sosa, Zenobrio. Campesino and opposition PRD activist, interview in Asunción Tlacolulita, Oaxaca, June 6, 2007.Google Scholar
Flores, Lazaro. Municipal Aagent, San Juán Cahuayaxi, Municipality of San Juán Mixtepec, interview in San Juán Cahuayaxi, San Juán Mixtepec, Oaxaca, May 24, 2007.Google Scholar
Flores Cruz, Cipriano. 2007. Director, State Program for Adult Education, former director of the State Electoral Institute of Oaxaca, interview in Oaxaca, Oaxaca, May 23, 2007.Google Scholar
Gutierrez Cortés, Romulado Juán. Municipal mayor, San Miguel Tlacotepec, interview in San Miguel Tlacotepec, June 26, 2007.Google Scholar
Martínez, Juan Carlos. Lawyer and anthropologist, interview in Oaxaca, Oaxaca, August 1, 2008.Google Scholar
Martínez Vasquez, Tomasa Alicia. Housewife, interview in San Juán Mixtepec, Oaxaca, May 24, 2007.Google Scholar
Méndez, Sara. Secretary, Oaxacan Human Rights Network (Red Oaxaqueña de Derechos Humanos, in Spanish), interview in Oaxaca, Oaxaca, June 25, 2007.Google Scholar
Peréz Cosmés, Eleazar. Mayor, Capulalpam de Méndez, interview in Capulalpam de Méndez, June 21, 2007.Google Scholar
Quiñones Osorio, Erminio. Campesino and opposition PRD activist, interview in Asunción Tlacolulita, Oaxaca, June 6, 2007.Google Scholar
Ruíz Matías, Viliulfo. Retired teacher and local PRI leader, interview in Asunción Tlacolulita, Oaxaca, June 7, 2007.Google Scholar
Toro, Olga. Owner of “Caseta Capulalpam” the town's telephone center, formerly municipal treasurer, interview June 21, 2007.Google Scholar
Zenón Flores, Anastasia. Tortilla factory owner and women's rights advocate, interview in Asunción Tlacolulita, Oaxaca, June 6, 2007.Google Scholar