Participación electoral femenina en contextos de usos y costumbres: el caso de Eufrosina Cruz

Abstract

This article explains the case of Eufrosina Cruz, young indigenous woman who, on November 4th, 2007, was a candidate to the municipal presidency of Santa María Quiegolani, in the state of Oaxaca, one of the 418 municipalities that designate authorities based on usos y costumbres. This case presents a conflict between the principles of the indigenous customary law and the constitutional law. Many of these indigenous communities forbid women to participate electorally, a fact that erodes their political rights and, therefore, violates the constitutional principle of gender equality. In the same way, from a civil society perspective, the characteristics of the Movimiento Quiegolani por la Equidad de Género are analyzed in order to explain the way in which the discriminatory facts suffered by Eufrosina Cruz transcended the electoral local field and help to create a symbolic figure to the non discrimination cause by gender reasons, both in the national and international contexts.