Beatriz Merino is one of Latin America’s most distinguished feminist leaders and the first woman prime minister of Peru. A respected lawyer, senator and champion of democratic institutions, she has used leadership to advance the rights of women and marginalised communities. Excerpts from an interview:
Q/ You were an architect of Peru’s gender quota system. What convinced you that quotas were necessary?
This issue came to my attention during the Beijing conference (UN World Conference on Women, 1995). We did not have a system of quotas in my country, and there were 5 or 10 per cent women in Congress. Even before that, I had been to Sweden, where I saw a women’s movement that demanded a quota system—it jumped representation there from around 6 per cent to 40 per cent almost overnight.
When I went to Beijing, I started listening to this seriously. One of the things key to getting results is consensus. You need the different parties to agree. So we opened a space—women from the official party and the opposition came together in a kind of unofficial caucus. The woman most fiercely opposed to this was a very smart, very powerful lady. She said, ‘I don’t need any quota.’ And she didn’t. But she was smart enough to realise that not everybody had her privilege. When the numbers were shown to her, and she was told that it would take 130 years to get close to equal representation, she said, ‘No way. We are not going to wait 130 years. We are going to have to do it now.’
So we worked very quietly, very hard. One year after Beijing, we had the first quota system. And what I can tell you is: before, it was 5 per cent. Today, it is close to 40 per cent. If you ask me what you need to do, it is a no-brainer. You have to do it. Period.
Q/ What legislative change followed once more women were in parliament?
In the five years after 1997, we had the most progressive and modern women’s legislature in this part of the world. Domestic violence, for example, had been considered a private matter. We passed a law that said no, it is a public matter. We also overturned a law that said if a rapist married his victim, he was completely exonerated. Even more shockingly, if a gang raped a woman, it was enough that one member married her for the entire gang to go free. We introduced a law ending that.
I later became the first woman prime minister of Peru. Today, we have had six women prime ministers—all from different parties, all with integrity, all who pushed women's rights when they served.
Q/ Political polarisation seems to have made cross-party solidarity harder. Do you see the women’s caucus culture weakening?
Of course, the polarisation of politics around the world is real. The civility that used to exist has eroded. However, I have to say that since we increased the number of women in parliament and enhanced their presence in the executive branch and the courts, this ability to cross party lines has actually blossomed—not necessarily in public, because of the polarisation, but in private.
We established private spaces, often supported by NGOs, where we could talk.
Q/ How did you navigate institutions that had never had a woman in charge?
The first thing you must understand is that the men who became your peers—in the cabinet, the military, wherever—have never dealt with a woman as their equal, much less their boss. Especially those above 55 or 60. They simply did not know what to do with me. And I think it was more their problem than mine. I was never uncomfortable.
One day in the cabinet, they were making the kind of jokes men make when they think they are among themselves. I cut their microphones, leaned into mine and said, with that tone your mother uses: ‘Members of cabinet. While I am your prime minister, you will avoid any kind of jokes of this nature.’ They had never experienced anything like it.
Afterwards, someone came to me and said, ‘You were too hard on us.’ And I said: ‘So how do you talk to your mother? You know exactly how to do it.’ If you allow men to speak to you as ‘one of the guys’, you obliterate your power. You must push back. You are different.
With the armed forces, it was the same. The first time I stood before all the admirals, the five-star generals, it was the first time in 240 years they had done this before a woman. I felt sorry for them. I said, ‘Gentlemen, it’s going to be all right.’ They smiled. They respected me enormously. And the key weapon throughout, beyond firmness, was my sense of humour. It creates space without surrendering authority.
Q/ Latin America is often cited as a global leader in women’s political representation. What accounts for that?
It is very surprising. This part of the world was supposed to be run by men—a macho culture. And yet, the three most powerful and largest countries in the region—Mexico, Brazil and Argentina—have all had women presidents.
I would say that 75 per cent of countries in the region have had women in the highest position of power, sooner than many countries in Europe and the US.
How did this happen? I think it was four decades of grassroots pressure—the quota systems, the transformative work—that pushed women up through the system until they blossomed.