As 27 Million voters head to the polls in the South American country of Argentina, much has been made of the rise of this first lady, Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner, and her similarities to Eva Peron and even Hilary Clinton. While this may seem novel and progressive to most citizens of the United States, closer examination reveals those countries that are typically perceived as “macho” or male-driven have been more apt to have a female leader than their industrialized counterparts.
Without going back too far we can start with that bastion of female rights, Russia. The Czarinas ruled Russia, often plotting against each other, quite well as far as the ruling class was concerned. Anna and Elizabeth, while not doing much for the serfdom, did rule that kingdom quite well and were able to further their own causes without too much difficulty. Granted these folks weren’t elected. Elizabeth had to garner some major support to overthrow Ivan VI and his cronies, so one could argue that a crude form of political persuasion was employed.
Let’s take a look at the Latin American countries and what seems to be more tolerance, even acceptance of female leaders. In the case of Nicaragua we have Violeta Chamorro. I remember announcing this while employed as a news director in Kansas. Let’s put this into perspective. Nicaragua was emerging from a terribly bloody war. With the male population making up the armies used to fight these battles, it only stands to reason that women would be left to put the country back together. They may have been ready for a complete 180 degree change after dealing with Daniel Ortega’s regime. Who really knows? Ms. Chamorro seemed to open the flood gates to those who would be president by election, not marital succession.
Other examples of female leadership in the countries that tend to follow the machismo party line include: Chile (Michelle Bachelet) and Panama (Mireya Moscoso). Female leaders also show up as Prime Ministers. Female leadership in India, Pakistan, The United Kingdom, and The Philippines are within recent memory for most of us.
The most disturbing point here is how far the rest of the world is ahead of U.S. politics in this regard. It’s a long list of countries that have had female presidents and Prime Ministers. These are industrialized countries with elections, constitutions, laws, and diplomatic ties with the United States. Israel, Ireland, Britain, Finland. Sweden, Germany, and Switzerland (more than once) have all had females in the top spot. So what’s the problem in the good old U.S. of A.? This has become more commonplace in other parts of the world. The fact that a female has taken power in some other country is bigger news in the United States than it is in the country where the event took place.
In summary, it may be time for the United States to put off enlightening the rest of the world to its brand of democracy and take some time to enlighten its own population who seems to be lagging in the areas of political thought and sexual equality.
M.C. Kopfer is a member representative of the Venture Resources Group and a frequent contributor to Privacy Club International. Find out more about personal freedoms and privacy at http://kopfer.vrgroup.info and http://kopfer.privacyclub.org . Mr. Kopfer can be reached at mckopfer@yahoo.com .
