Mexico is a country well known for its macho culture and alarming rates of femicide. But in recent years it has also been leading the way in political gender parity.

Both front-runners in next year’s presidential elections will be women, for example. And in another stride for women’s freedom, the Supreme Court decriminalized abortion last week, expanding women’s reproductive rights.

Feminist and other civil society groups have been pushing for gender parity in Mexican politics for nearly 30 years. Reform laws and constitutional changes have had their effect. The proportion of women in Mexican politics climbed from 15% in 1994 to 50% in 2021.

Today women serve as president of the national electoral commission, head of the Supreme Court, presidents of the Senate and Congress, and head of the Bank of Mexico, among other high-profile positions.

With two women running in next year’s elections, Mexico is now set to elect its first female president before the United States does.

“It gives me butterflies,” says Flora Espinosa, an aspiring nurse sipping coffee through a straw on her morning commute. “I’m not used to this; I’m actually feeling hopeful for women.”

As Mexicans prepare for Independence Day festivities this week, including the traditional midnight grito, or shout, aspiring nurse Flora Espinosa says this year she’ll be screaming in celebration of Mexican women.

That’s because in the span of a few hours on Sept. 6, many like Ms. Espinosa felt a shift in women’s standing. The Supreme Court decriminalized abortion, expanding reproductive rights, and the ruling party chose a woman as its presidential candidate, matching the opposition, meaning Mexico is almost guaranteed to have its first presidenta next year.

“It gives me butterflies,” says Ms. Espinosa, sipping coffee through a straw on her morning commute. “I’m not used to this; I’m actually feeling hopeful for women.”

Mexico may be a byword for machismo and have sky-high rates of femicide, but in recent years the country has also led the way in ensuring gender parity in politics. Women hold half of all congressional seats and Cabinet positions. And social movements, such as the mothers of children who have disappeared amid historic levels of violence, have become important political players, increasingly well organized and hard to sideline.

A woman president doesn’t guarantee a political agenda focused on women’s rights, cautions Esperanza Palma, a political scientist at the Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana-Azcapotzalco, and it will take time to ensure that doctors respect the Supreme Court ruling. But these recent moves are reasons for hope, she says.

“This is Mexican women’s moment,” she says, pointing to the years of feminist-led organization and persistence that laid the groundwork for last week’s developments. “These are historic achievements, and we can feel optimistic.”

A more just society?

For decades, Latin America has been known for some of the most restrictive abortion policies in the world. But in recent years, countries such as Argentina and Colombia – and now Mexico – have begun dismantling restrictions on reproductive rights.