Women Participation in Politics in Latin America: the Impact of Quotas and Closed List

Abstract

The present article analyzes women political participation in Latin America through their presence in national legislative chambers. Institutional elements are privileged, focusing on two variables: presence or absence of gender quotas and electoral (open or closed) list system. It aims to answer whether the combination of closed list system and quotas existence potentiates women election to the 14 Latin American lower or sole legislative chambers. Historical data on women’s presence were analyzed, allowing for the creation of three groups, which were later analyzed qualitatively. The study allowed us to confirm the hypothesis on the cumulative effect as the countries with both variables showed the best results; and, at the same time, question it partially, by identifying countries such as Ecuador, which is among the ones with the greatest percentages and shows only one of the variables.