Vol. 5, Issue 10
March 7, 2013
The struggle for a woman to run for president in the masculine-run Mexican culture was discussed during the “One Woman’s Challenge: Competing for the Presidency of Mexico” lecture, given at UST on February 26.
Josephina Vásquez Mota, a candidate in the the 2012 Mexican elections, gave the lecture at Jones Hall, and drew a full house of students, faculty, and interested community members.
Vásquez Mota spoke about how the predominant machismo culture of Mexico treated her differently. One example was the Mexican press asking questions that normally would not be asked of a male political candidate.
“Because the questions posed to me at least every day in Mexico, time and again, included whether or not Mexico was prepared to be governed by a woman,” Vasquez Mota said. “I heard and responded to the same questions, dozens of times, and i thought ‘how can theu ask the same thing every day, in all the states of Mexico?’ When in Mexico n there are nearly b seven million women who are heads of households, who work hard every day, who support their homes, and their husbands on occasion. ”
Vásquez Mota was the representative b for the Partido Acción Nacional, the National Action Party, commonly referred to as PAN. The party holds more conservative ideas concerning both economic and social issues. Though Vasquez Mota did not win the election, attaining only 23 percent of the general vote, her nomination as a woman is historical, especially when taking into consideration that Mexican women only won the right to vote in 1958.
Vásquez Mota, who has often been called by the Mexican press as an orator who speaks with her heart and real feeling, shared some of the inspiration for why she chose to run for president.