""Feminist Agendas and Democracy in Latin America" is a timely intervention in debates that should matter to feminists everywhere. Using freshly collected data, the authors evaluate questions like the impact of gender quotas on politics, the relationship between global feminism and national policies, and the impact of neoliberal restructuring and democratic transition on specific women's movements. Engaging and clear, the essays offer new insights into issues that demand our attention."--Gay W. Seidman, author of "Beyond the Boycott: Labor Rights, Human Rights, and Transnational Activism"

Acknowledgments vii
Introduction / Jane S. Jacquette i
Part I. Feminism and the State
1. Feminist Politics in Contemporary Chile: From the Democratic Transition to Bachelet / Marcela Ríos Tobar 21
2. Gender Quotas, Candidate Selection, and Electoral Campaigns: Comparing Argentina and Brazil / Jutta Marx, Jutta Borner, and Mariana Caminotti 45
3. Feminist Activism in a Changing Political Context: Venezuela / Gioconda Espina 65
Part II. Legal Strategies and Democratic Institutions
4. The Effectiveness of Legal Strategies in Argentina / Beatríz Kohen 83
5. Violence against Women in Brazil: International Litigation and Local Advances / Flávia Piovesan 113
6. Gender and Human Rights: Lessons from the Peruvian Truth and Reconciliation Commission / Julissa Mantilla Falcón 129
Part III. International and Cross-Border Activities
7. International Feminisms: The World Social Forum / Virginia Vargs 145
8. Social Accountability and Citizen Participation: Are Latin American Governments Meeting Their Commitments to Gender Equity? / Teresa Valdés and Alina Donoso 165
9. Violence and Activism at the Mexico-United States Border: Women, Migration, and Obstacles to Justice / Kathleen Staudt and Gabriela Montoya 186
10. Feminist Activism and the Challenges of Democracy / Jane S. Jacquette 208
Bibliography 219
Contributors 243
Index 247

Jane S. Jaquette is Bertha Harton Orr Professor in the Liberal Arts and Professor of Politics, Emerita at Occidental College in Los Angeles. A past president of both the Association for Women and Development and the Latin American Studies Association, she is the editor of Women and Gender Equity in Development Theory and Practice (also published by Duke University Press), Women and Democracy: Latin America and Central and Eastern Europe (with Sharon Wolchik), and The Women’s Movement in Latin America: Feminism and the Transition to Democracy.