The Women’s Suffrage Movement and Feminism in Argentina from Roca to Peron

On September 23, 1947, the Plaza de Mayo in Buenos Aires filled with jubilant men and women celebrating a new law that gave women the same right as men to vote in all elections. President Juan Domingo Peron had achieved a major victory for his regime. In the years that followed, Peron, with the help of his wife, Evita, courted female voters and created opportunities for them to participate in his broad-based political coalition. However, the suffrage law generated considerable controversy, including from supporters of the movement. Harsh criticism came from the Left, especially from the Socialist Party, the earliest advocate of women’s suffrage in Argentina. Also, feminists who had done so much to build the case in favor of voting vehemently opposed the reform, viewing the Peronist suffrage plan as a cynical attempt to boost Evita’s political career.

Providing an overview of the women’s suffrage movement from its earliest stages through the passage of the 1947 law, this study examines what Argentina’s history can tell us about the moment when a society agrees to the equal participation of women in the political realm.