Women lose prominence on the political map of Latam

The times when Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, Dilma Rousseff, Michelle Bachelet and Laura Chinchilla were important pieces of the political map of the region are in the past. One of the most recent electoral results in Latin America, Ecuador, again leaves 2 men, Andrés Arauz and Guillermo Lasso, as competitors for the head of state. Only in 21 countries are there female heads of state or government, but  none are in Latin America.

Also read: 4 facts to understand the electoral process in Ecuador

But, despite a sad outlook for inclusion and diversity in the region, there are potential future leaderships and women with promising careers in politics. In Peru, two of the main candidates are women (of both ideological spectra). In addition, in Colombia, Argentina, Nicaragua, Venezuela, Uruguay, Costa Rica and Ecuador (outgoing) they have female vice presidents.

This is a list of women who today hold important positions in their countries and who will surely continue to exercise important leadership and increase inclusion.

Marta Lucia Ramirez

She is the current and first vice president in the history of Colombia and, according to several analysts, a possible candidate for the conservative party for the presidential elections. She has held various public positions as head of ministries.

Keiko Fujimori

The daughter of former Peruvian dictator Alberto Fujimori. She is the undisputed leader of Fujimorism and one of the strong candidates for the next elections in Peru.

Veronika Mendoza

Presidential candidate in Peru for the Peruvian Nationalist party (left). She is running again for the presidency and hopes to collect all the anti-Fujimori votes.

Cristina Fernández de Kirchner

Little new can be said about the current Argentine vice president. She was an important piece in the election of Alberto Fernández and one of the main and most powerful political leaders in the nation.

Epsy Campbell Barr

Campbell today holds the vice presidency of Costa Rica and will go down in history as the first Afro-descendant woman to hold this position. She has been a presidential candidate several times and could return to her plans to continue the legacy of Laura Chinchilla.

Rosario Murillo

One of the most controversial women politicians in the entire region. She is the wife of Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega, and currently holds his vice presidency. He has several corruption scandals and even one of the rape of one of his daughters from a previous marriage by Ortega. Murillo ended up defending her current husband and, for this reason, she is not ideally a strong representative of feminism.

Delcy Rodriguez

One of the hard pieces of Chavismo. The Venezuelan vice president is one of the most powerful Chavista leaders of the Venezuelan socialist party. She has held various senior positions and will always be seen as a possible successor to Maduro (if this happens in the near future).

Maria Alejandra Muñoz

The Ecuadorian vice president took office on July 22, 2020 when her predecessor Otto Sonnenholzner resigned from office. She is the third woman in office and the fourth vice president of Lenin Moreno.

Beatriz Argimon

She is the first woman elected as vice president of the eastern nation. Argimón is an important part of the National Party for future elections.

Claudia Lopez

The current mayor of Bogotá is the first elected woman to hold the position and the first openly gay person to reach the mayor's office in one of the Latin American capitals. She occupies, as it is popularly known, the second most important position in the nation and is a strong leader of progressivism to reach the presidency quickly in a country in which no woman has held that position.

Claudia Scheinbaum

Head of Government of Mexico City and one of the most powerful environmentalists in the region. Scheinbaum, close to President Manuel López Obrador, is the first elected woman to hold this position.

Cynthia Viteri Jimenez

She is the current mayor of the city of Guayaquil, the economic center of Ecuador. She is one of the options for a possible presidential candidacy by the conservative center-right (as happened in 2006 and 2017).