- The Brazilian presidential election of 2010 is shaping up to be a contest between two womens, as President Lula nominates a former militant to replace him even as another woman, a former member of his cabinet, fronts another party’s slate.
- What’s going on here? Brazil may soon join Argentina, Costa Rica and, until early in 2010, Chile in having a woman as president. The Bolivian Cabinet is half made up of women. Perhaps most amazingly, the defence ministries of Chile, Colombia, Uruguay, Argentina and Ecuador have recently been run by women.
- Granted, many of these governments are left-leaning, and quotas helped galvanise the change. But so has a shift in the mentality in famously macho Latin America. A Brazilan sociologist told The Times of India: “Being a woman candidate is not a handicap anymore. Like other countries in the region, Brazil is ready to accept a woman president.”
- And this is a matter of talent as well, like in much of the world where democracy and development have a strong hold. Girls outnumber boys in school, and do better there as well.
The Times of India report
