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Hispanic American Historical Review 83.2 (2003) 417-419



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After the Revolution: Gender and Democracy in El Salvador, Nicaragua, and Guatemala. By ILJA A. LUCIAK. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2001. Tables. Notes. Bibliography. Index. xxix, 297 pp. Paper, $24.95.

During the final decade of the twentieth century, the Central American region underwent significant transitions as former guerrilla movements and revolutionary Left organizations became established opposition political parties. Political scientist Ilja A. Luciak argues persuasively that examining the process through the lens of gender can give us important insights into the degree of democratic consolidation that has taken place in three key countries. While his main focus is on El Salvador, he gives ample attention to Nicaragua and Guatemala as well, providing a strong basis for comparison and critique. His firm grounding in socialist and feminist thought is apparent, as he expresses favor for "substantive democratic political systems, based on equality for all citizens regardless of their class, gender, or ethnic background" (p. xii).

Luciak examines formal and substantive democracy and gender equality, with an emphasis on the degree of women's participation as revolutionary movements sought to become players in partisan politics. Thus, the percentage of their representation as party members and elected officials is viewed in relation to their level of involvement in earlier revolutionary movements and, in the case of Nicaragua, in the Sandinista government. While Nicaragua after 1990, El Salvador after 1992, and Guatemala after 1996 saw peaceful transitions to democratically elected governments, the countries also contended with neoliberal pressure to compete in the market economy and sharply cut back the state sector. During these challenging years, a commitment to gender equity became a sort of litmus test of leftist political practice in the Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN), the Farbundo Martí National Liberation Front (FMLN), and the Guatemalan National Revolutionary Unity (URNG). As Luciak shows, all three parties displayed some willingness to draw women into party membership and leadership, but when it came to grappling with substantive gender issues and democratic decision-making practices their records were spottier.

After assessing women's participation in Central American guerrilla movements, Luciak considers the incorporation of former combatants into civilian life and the efforts to transform revolutionary movements into democratic political parties. He then examines the part played by women militants in the new party structures and analyzes recent elections from a gendered perspective. Finally, he offers an assessment of the Left's accomplishments, reaching the unsurprising conclusion that democratic consolidation and gender equality will require far more time and the combined efforts of women and men alike. With research based largely on interviews with activists and party officials in the three countries, Luciak is able to bring rich material and quotes from many individuals to these chapters. [End Page 417] This is especially true of his comparison of three Salvadoran towns in the third chapter, which draws on interviews with grassroots participants to reveal why they joined the revolutionary struggle, how they benefited from the peace accords, and how they currently experience gender politics in the FMLN. His command of the complex politics of the region allows him both to offer detailed discussion of the case studies and to engage broader questions. Those already familiar with one or more of the countries examined will find much to appreciate, while others may find some of the detail slightly dense.

As Luciak notes, the international feminist movement provided a context that enhanced women's participation in revolutionary movements and political parties in the region. Although efforts were made to establish minimum quotas of women representatives in the parties through "positive discrimination," rising expectations of inclusion of women and women's issues meant that the results were often disappointing. The 1990s saw the emergence of autonomous women's movements in the three countries, due in part to the Left's inadequate response to feminist concerns, as well as to nonpartisan efforts to introduce change in civil society. Indeed, the most active women's movement in the three countries, in Nicaragua, broke away from...

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