Mexico, leader of feminist foreign policy in Latin America?

On January 9, 2020, Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard announced the adoption of a Feminist Foreign Policy (PEF) by the Mexican government, making it the first country in Latin America to opt for this approach. Thus, the commitment of the Mexican government to the objectives of promoting gender equality within the institutional framework and in multilateral forums was officially established, for which it is planned to use the transversal gender perspective as a unit of analysis. [1]

In this framework, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (SRE) understands the PEF as the "set of principles that seek, from foreign policy, to guide government actions to reduce and eliminate structural differences, gaps and gender inequalities in order to build a more just and prosperous society. In addition, five guiding principles have been identified for this approach [2]:

1. Foreign policy with a gender perspective and feminist foreign agenda Plus (international leadership in gender matters).
2. A parity SRE (organizational improvements for parity development).
3. An SRE free of violence and safe for all (eradication of gender violence).
4. Equality is seen (visibility of the female staff of the SRE).
5. The SRE is intersectional feminist (complementarity with other global actions).

This is the change that is planned for the SRE; However, Mexico faces great problems of structural inequality and short-term weaknesses that entail considerable challenges for the implementation of the public policies necessary to achieve these objectives. In 2020, the year in which Mexico announces the new PEF, 777 femicides have been registered as of November. As well as high levels of gender violence in Mexico City, Veracruz and the State of Mexico [3] and the takeover of the facilities of the National Human Rights Commission (CNDH) in September by feminist groups [4]. For this reason, it is necessary to ask oneself: What are the aspects that the PEF should consider in Mexico?

Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard reiterates the adoption of a Feminist Foreign Policy. Source: The USA Newspaper

The gender perspective in foreign policy

The international reality that the different actors that make it up face daily is subjective and erratic, but it also denotes patterns. Historically, the approach to international relations has been androcentric, and despite the increasing female participation in the political and economic sphere, male hegemony prevails. The path towards gender parity requires the deconstruction of the current paradigms at the individual, state and systemic levels.

The foreign policy can be defined as the set of positions and decisions in economic, political, cultural and security matters adopted by a State, based on its national interests [5]. Consequently, the foreign policy model reflects the orientation of national public policies in the international arena, through the exercise of diplomacy.

The gender perspective as a unit of analysis in the formulation of public policies and foreign policy is the first step to transform an international reality in which women and girls are the first to suffer during times of economic crisis. Due to the above; Countries like Sweden, Norway, France, and Canada have been pioneers in adopting a feminist perspective, which represents a change in foreign policy paradigms.

Despite the fact that throughout history the female figure has stood out in politics, the latter continues to evoke masculinity when talking about power, war and the use of force. The patriarchal political-social order generates a gender dichotomy in which a culture of dominant masculinity is fostered, in which the ideal ruler is perceived as a man who meets the physical and economic characteristics that position him at the top of the hierarchy. masculine.

Under this premise, it is considered more appropriate for a male figure to occupy high-ranking political positions, since they are conceptualized as more rational beings and capable of making inexorable decisions at critical moments. However, it has occasionally been assumed that women may also be suitable for positions such as Heads of State.

Norway is currently an example of female leadership, while it is one of the States that identifies with the exercise of a Feminist Foreign Policy. This means that it has a multidimensional and reflective political framework on Foreign Policy in the global system of violence that violates marginalized groups and makes them victims of the destructive forces of social, economic and political hierarchies. [6]

Similarly, Sweden adopted a foreign policy in 2014 with which it has proposed to ensure the security and human rights of girls and women, as well as gender equality as its main objective. The Swedish government has ensured that, even in the midst of a scenario as chaotic as the COVID-19 pandemic, the situation of vulnerable sectors, such as women and girls, takes precedence, since that is when the underlying problems they become predominant [7].

The global increase in domestic violence and child pregnancies as a result of confinement amplifies the need for cultural promotion of gender equality, sexual education and citizen protection. The position of the rulers is decisive in promoting these practices; an example of this is the Canadian prime minister, Justin Trudeau. In this sense, Mexico has a possible pillar on which to lean for regional cooperation towards these objectives.

The implementation of a Feminist Foreign Policy (PEF) in Mexico

Since 2008, Mexico has annually allocated part of its public budget for gender parity. However, its application has become deficient. The lack of defined goals, as well as the monitoring and evaluation of the results obtained by the measures already implemented, constitute a series of factors that hinder the application of distributive public policies.

In Annex no. 13 ("Expenditures for equality between women and men") of the Federation's Egress Budget, indicates a 60% increase in the amount allocated to these public policies with respect to 2019; which now amounts to 103.5 billion pesos [8] and is distributed in different areas such as public education, health, work and social security, among others. Despite this progress, socioeconomic indicators have shown a growing feminization of poverty (in the period between 2008 and 2018, the number of women with incomes below the poverty line has increased by 3.4 million [9 ]), so this is an important focus.

To achieve an improvement, a greater promotion of sexual and reproductive education is necessary (to which 132.6 million pesos of the budget are already allocated) in an effective way and within the reach of the most vulnerable sectors [10]. It is It is essential to work on an educational reform for the implementation of the gender perspective in the study programs in basic and upper secondary education at the federal level. In this way, Mexican children will be able to acquire knowledge that will allow them to identify sexual, physical and psychological abuse, as well as develop without the imposition of gender roles.

Likewise, since the family is the first social unit to which an individual is exposed, the gender perspective should be promoted in the family nucleus to lay the foundations of a reality where there is no place for toxic masculinities. This is a way of changing the current paradigms within the Mexican State, however, abroad, migrant women and girls find themselves vulnerable to situations of abuse by foreign governments.

One of the issues to which Mexican migrants have found themselves exposed is the violation of their human rights, among which that of reproductive autonomy stands out. Despite this situation, there are not enough quantitative and qualitative data that more accurately detail the problems faced by Mexican women abroad, especially in the United States, the main receiving country for the Mexican migrant population **[11] **.

Similarly, dissemination of care services for migrant women victims of family violence offered by the large network of embassies and consulates that Mexico has in the United States should be intensified. There is a deficiency of information in terms of gender issues that affect the migratory phenomenon, in which female participation, on many occasions, is the result of the decision of the male head of the family, without the woman having the opportunity to file her case. willpower.

From international cooperation to citizen participation

Since the celebration of the Beijing Platform for Action in 1995 and the adoption of the 2030 agenda in 2015 by the United Nations Organization (UN), specific objectives have been defined to achieve gender equality in all areas. However, the institutionalization of the necessary policies is extremely complex, which is why the participation of civil society becomes essential.

Faced with these difficulties, international cooperation acts as a uniting mechanism between groups and organizations whose objective is to promote the well-being of women. In many cases, national feminist activism has managed to establish relationships with that of other Latin American countries, since gender violence is a shared problem in the region.

Ideally, the Mexican government should promote this type of cooperation abroad. The designation of Mexico as a non-permanent member of the Security Council of the United Nations Organization this year is a sample of the leadership capacity that our country possesses in Latin America. For this reason, if Mexico wants to stand out in the region in terms of gender equality, it will be necessary to establish cooperative relations to promote these objectives.

On the other hand, promoting a feminist approach in Foreign Policy entails taking into account other historically unprotected and underrepresented sectors in the political sphere, such as the indigenous community and the LGBTTIQ+. It is important to remember that these social groups, in some cases, not finding sufficient or adequate spaces, have formed associations and independent political organizations, so opening up in this area is a key task for the State.

Although Mexican feminist organizations have represented throughout history the need for association for the free discussion of gender issues, formal and informal collectives have now been consolidated with interests consistent with the feminist current of the women that make them up. This entails an inevitable misconfiguration of the interests embodied in government petitions and has contributed to the polarization of society with respect to the feminist movement, since those who do not identify with the projection of feminism presented by the mass media begin to perceive these groups and collectives with a feeling of otherness.

Palace of Fine Arts during feminist march. Source: somoselmedio.com

Final considerations

Feminism is a social, cultural, political and economic order that directs its efforts to the construction of spaces that do not merge into oppression in a generic, racist or classist way [12]. Therefore, when we talk about feminism, reference is necessarily made to a change in the worldview and in the current political and economic models.

Likewise, the implementation of a new approach in the foreign policy of a country implies an adjustment in its practical-theoretical approach. In order for the feminist perspective that seeks to be adopted to fit into the logic of the Mexican foreign policy model, a comprehensive understanding of the panorama within the country must be achieved. In such a way that the appropriate public policies are implemented according to the structural needs in the different areas that, in turn, have different degrees of development.

Inclusion will be a determining aspect in the implementation of the PEF, since it is necessary to involve groups vulnerable to gender violence in this transcendental change. Mexican society is multicultural, however, historically it has presented a duality that is reflected in uneven development. To achieve significant effects, priority must be given to those at the bottom of the social and economic hierarchy. Whenever one looks towards these invisible places, it will be possible to verify that women are relegated to the lowest levels, for which reason they are forced to lead a life of systematic oppression.

Intersectionality is an extremely useful analysis tool to establish differences in the forms of gender domination and how to eradicate them. In this sense, the Mexican State should be a sample of internal and external cooperation, so that it can be an ally in the international fight against gender violence.

Only through social union will it be possible to achieve true equality. Feminism is undoubtedly a valuable tool in the approach to social relations at the individual, state and systemic levels. Frequently, the solutions are found in the most marginalized places; it is necessary to look towards the least represented sectors to achieve a structural, effective and functional coupling.