Honors Theses
Date of Award
2015
Document Type
Undergraduate Thesis
Department
Croft Institute for International Studies
First Advisor
Kate Centellas
Relational Format
Dissertation/Thesis
Abstract
This thesis will answer the following question: Is there a relationship between the election of Bachelet in 2005 and 2013 and machismo? What, if any, influence did machismo have on her election? Chile is one of the more socially conservative countries in Latin America -- divorce was illegal until 2004, abortion is still illegal, etc. When Michelle Bachelet ran for the office of President in 2005, the arguments from her male opponents criticized her abilities based on gendered ideas of the roles of men and women should play in society. For example, they implied that because she was a woman, she did not have the discipline to make the tough decisions often required of a president (of course, this was not overtly stated to prevent the alienation of women voters). However, when she ran again in 2013, her primary opponent was also a woman. While the presence of a female opponent was a late decision made by the political right, it also demonstrates a shift in the values of Chilean politics. It appears as though the Alianza (right) believed the only way to beat Bachelet was with another woman, and part of my research will be to figure out why that decision was made. My hypothesis is that, especially within the last decade, more progressive viewpoints have begun to replace machismo in Chilean politics. My working definition of machismo, taken from The Myth of Sameness Among Latino Men and Their Machismo, is as follows: a complex interaction of learned and reinforced social, cultural, and behavioral components constituting the content of male gender role identities in the sociopolitical context of Latino society.
Recommended Citation
Bridges, Laura, "Machismo in Chilean Politics: A Case Study of the 2005 and 2013 Presidential Elections" (2015). Honors Theses. 563.
https://egrove.olemiss.edu/hon_thesis/563
Accessibility Status
Searchable text
Comments
A thesis presented in partial fulfillment of the requirements for completion of the Bachelor of Arts degree in International Studies from the Croft Institute for International Studies and the Sally McDonnell Barksdale Honors College.