Undemocratic Legacies: First-Wave Feminism and the Somocista Women's Movement in Nicaragua, 1920s-1979.

The most important pre-1979 women's movements in Nicaragua were first-wave feminism and the right-wing Somocista women's movement. I argue that it is useful to examine these two movements jointly in order to assess their legacy with regard to struggles over the relationship between women's organisations and political parties, age/generational differences, electoral democracy versus clientelism, and class and leadership. I conclude that while the pre-1979 women's movements brought about women's suffrage and increased opportunities for some women, their collective legacy was, in some fundamental ways, undemocratic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Bulletin of Latin American Research is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)