Left Parties and Violence against Women Legislation in Mexico

Are governments with stronger left parties more likely to implement comprehensive violence against women (VAW) laws? This paper combines a qualitative historical study with a statistical analysis of the most recent wave of policy reform. The historical analysis shows that VAW initiatives were typically proposed by feminist legislators from centrist or leftist parties, often with close ties to the feminist movement. The regression results show that the strength of leftist parties in the state legislature does not have a significant effect on the comprehensiveness or implementation of VAW laws, but the strength of the feminist movement does.