Feminist Policymaking in Chile

Conclusion: The Future of Feminist Policymaking

conclusion: the future of feminist policymaking Feminists should neither dismiss the State as the ultimate mechanism of male social control nor embrace it as the ultimate vehicle for gender-based social change. Rather, under different political regimes and at distinct historical conjunctures , the State is potentially a mechanism either for social change or social control in women’s lives. —Alvarez 1990, 273 The election of Michelle Bachelet to the Chilean presidency in 2006 spawned enormous interest in the impact of a feminist president on the expansion of women’s rights. Bachelet’s successes and failures in promoting women’s rights will have repercussions beyond Chile, as advocates of women ’s equality look to the Chilean case for lessons in successful feminist policymaking. Throughout this study I have argued that a country’s particular political institutional structure creates specific incentives and disincentives for feminist policymaking. A cadre of committed feminists inside and outside government is fundamental for policy change, but passion for the cause is not enough. Feminists don’t act in a vacuum; they must channel their demands for women’s equality through a country’s existing political institutions, which in every case will grant unequal access to different political constituencies and will prioritize certain political issues over others. Institutional structures vary from country to country, and feminists in the legislature, the executive branch, and civil society must learn to navigate the institutional setting, anticipating roadblocks and effectively countering the 170 FEMINIST POLICYMAKING IN CHILE opposition their proposals will inevitably face. This means that feminists both within and outside government must learn to cooperate with one another to develop viable proposals that will be able to weather the legislative process. Complicating this scenario is the fact that these strategies will vary not only across countries but within countries across different policy areas, and even within policy areas over time. The strategies that feminists employ may themselves be controversial. In Chile, the decision by feminist representatives and the leadership of Sernam to adopt a ‘‘pro-family’’ discourse in defense of their proposals alienated feminists in civil society, who viewed this tactic as a dangerous capitulation to conservative gender ideology. A critical issue that proponents of women’s rights have had to confront is the point at which a bill is watered down until it becomes worse than no bill at all. In this highly fluid political context, the success or failure of one bill will affect future policymaking strategies, as each actor weighs the risks and benefits of future efforts. The case studies analyzed here demonstrate that while institutional structures may remain static for long periods, the larger political environment remains surprisingly dynamic and responsive to political tactics. In other words, politics matters. The most important lesson we can take from the Chilean case is that feminists can learn over time to strategize more effectively to increase the success of their proposals. As noted in the chapters on abortion and particularly divorce, this is true even on a country’s most controversial issues. A Feminist in the Moneda The election of Michelle Bachelet, an avowed feminist, to the presidency was a watershed in Chilean politics. Feminists in particular viewed her election with great optimism. What impact did she have on the dynamics of feminist policymaking in Chile? President Bachelet’s commitment to gender parity in her cabinet and in the appointment of local officials, and her public support of gender quotas for Congress, demonstrated her primary interest in women’s rights issues and her willingness to enact controversial political reforms to boost women’s political influence. An analysis of the past sixteen years of policymaking on women’s rights suggests that this increase in executive support could have a major impact on policy reform efforts. CONCLUSION 171 However, Bachelet’s potential to push for reform must be considered within the larger context of Chilean politics, where party strength, interbranch conflicts, tensions within the party coalitions, and the growing opposition of the Right affected her policy options. Differences in institutional structure and in the strength of conservative cultural forces limit the extent to which Chile can replicate the positive gains made in advanced industrial welfare states in the areas of women’s participation and progressive policy. Yet the feminist policymaking successes since the transition to democracy demonstrate the potential for progressive reform of women’s rights laws even in Chile’s relatively constrained political context...