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Agreement signed in order to create the Managing Committee for the Local Network of Women Municipals Leaders
Representatives of Municipal Associations from five Central American countries and the Dominican Republic signed an agreement through which the managing committee for the local network of the Women Municipals Association was created.
The local governors met in Santo Domingo in order to assist the local seminar Gender in the Local Development on November 21st and 22nd 2007.
It is to be expected that the union between these neighboring countries will promote the efforts of the municipal women and develop common initiatives at a local level. The syndic of Navarrete in the Dominican Republic, Amantita Gomez, stated that “the female participation in politics is no longer an isolated phenomenon. When spoken of associations of different countries formed as one group, the message projected to the world is that it can be done.”
The creation of this network is only the beginning of a long path, according to Carmen Rivera, the president of the municipal women’s association of Honduras (ANAMMH) and the Governing Municipal of La Ceiba: “I believe that this is just the beginning of what there is to be done, in fact, we are declaring a public document, through which we inform all the governments that we are here and perfectly capable of efficiently and honestly representing our communities. We will have to arrange a meeting in the near future to continue this network and to be able to identify the short, medium and long term objectives.”
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Organizations Encourage Women’s Political Participation
Progressio, the International Research and Training Institute for the Advancement of Women (UN- INSTRAW), the Costa Ricanian council of directors (CONARE), Volens, Friedrich- Ebert- Stiftung (FES) and the International Spanish Cooperation Agency (AECI) were the organizations that attended the local seminar, gender and local development, where they signed the agreement to form the local network of the Women Municipals Association.
Nielsen Perez, Responsible for the Area of Active Citizenship of the National Women’s Institute and the Representative of the Council of Ministers for Women’s Affairs in Central America (COMMCA)
Perez presented COMMCA’s history and encouraged the municipal women to work in units with feminist organizations and join forces from a local perspective.
 Interview with Nielsen Pérez UN-INSTRAW.
In Costa Rica there has been a significant advance in women for various reasons: The 40% minimum quota system, the court’s electoral vigilance in order to execute the quota system and the movements of feminist women. However, certain challenges still exist such as, strengthening a women’s administration once she has engaged in a political position through popular demand. Perez states that Costa Rican women occupy a 38% in congress (position obtained through popular demand), an 11% in the mayor’s office and a 40% in council.
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Possible Benefits of Networking
The local networking of the Women Municipals Association offers a space for the exchange of experiences between local governors. A key subject for the representatives of the invited countries was the level of consolidation from the municipal associations nationally. While Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador and the Dominican Republic count on associations, Panama and Costa Rica are initiating the process of forming their associations. The participants in the event indicated that their national associations have facilitated the awareness of women in the pre-electoral periods as well as the financial search. Therefore, counting on a regional network which includes all the associations, can contribute to promoting similar activities at the regional level.
La conformación del comité gestor es solo el inicio de un largo camino por recorrer, así lo afirmó Carmen Rivera, presidenta de la Asociación de Mujeres Municipalistas de Honduras ANAMMH y Regidora Municipal de La Ceiba, "yo creo que este es el inicio de lo mucho que hay que hacer y de hecho, estamos declarando un documento público, a través del cual exhortamos a todos los gobiernos para que sepan que aquí estamos y que podemos representar a nuestras comunidades con eficiencia y honestidad. Tendríamos que definir una próxima reunión para darle continuidad a esta red y para identificar los objetivos a corto, mediano y largo plazo."
Quota System in Central America and Dominican Republic
The local network of women municipals could also facilitate the enforcement of the quota system in countries where such system doesn’t exist, as well as in countries where such system still exists but is not enforced. While El Salvador and Guatemala still don’t have a quota system, the Dominican Republic, Honduras, Panama and Costa Rica count on this legal instrument. In various countries, the quota system still does not demonstrate the awaiting results of at least 30% of women occupying positions gained by popular demand; nevertheless, the successful strategies that women have implemented are promising. In Costa Rica for example, the quota system is being enforced correctly thanks to the vigilance of the women who guarantee this enforcement. Elvia Villalobos, spouse of Mayor of Canton de San Isidro de Heredia, indicated that the strength of women in Costa Rica is growing judging by the fact that a thousand women were elected in 2002 whereas this figure double by 2006.
Políticas Públicas de Género en los Gobiernos Locales de Centroamérica y República Dominicana - Fundación DEMUCA - Elena Saura AICE (PDF)
Presentación Secretaría de la Mujer - República Dominicana Carmen Pérez (Power Point)
Planificación y Presupuesto Municipal Participativo conEnfoque de Género en la República Dominicana.Experiencia del municipio de Villa González. Oficina Municipal de Mujeres (OFIMUM) Aridia Álvarez A. (Power Point)
UN-INSTRAW - Susana Rico (Power Point) |
Power Point Presentation Elvia de Villalobos, Councilwoman of Canton in San Isidro de Heredia in Costa Rica.
Villalobos described during her presentation, the female political participation in her country and the results of a research where the necessity to form a network of municipal women locally was evaluated.
Interview with Elvia Villalobos -UN-INSTRAW.
Villalobos emphasized on the Costa Rican initiative to form the network of Women Municipals in Costa Rica. The councilwoman mentioned the achievements in the female political participation in Costa Rica which is one of the countries with the lowest percentage of female participants in politics at both the national and local level.
Honduras
Power Point Presentation Carmen Rivera, the President of the municipal women’s association of Honduras (ANAMMH) and the Governing Municipal of La Ceiba in Honduras
Rivera presented the history and the Project of ANAMMH. The councilor also explained the obstacles that Honduran women endure tend to be faced during their candidature and once elected.
Interview with Carmen Rivera - UN-INSTRAW. Rivera explained that in Honduras, the law of gender equality has been recently approved through which a quota of 30% of feminine participation will be established. The law explains that if a voting ballot is presented with less then 30% of female participants it will be rejected. However, women are only allowed to occupy the last positions on the list which does significantly decrease their chances of getting elected.
Guatemala
Power Point Presentation
Juana Tzorin, Councilwoman of the municipal of Sololá and Representative of the Association of Women in the Municipal Government of Guatemala (ASMUGOM)
Tzorin presented the history and Project of (ASMUGOM) and offered recent figures on women who were elected during the 2007 elections in Guatemala.
Interview with Juana Tzorin- UN-INSTRAW.
Tzorin indicated that the female political participation in Guatemala decreased during the 2007 elections. This decrease is a direct result of the fact that women occupy a fifth or sixth place in the voting ballot, problem which was also identified by the representative of Honduras, explained Tzorin.
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Panama
Presentación de Virginia Abrego, Councilwoman of the municipal of Changuinola, Bocas Del Toro in Panama and Representative of the National Union of Panamanian Women (UNUPA)
Abrego shared with her colleagues her personal experience in local politics.
The Councilwoman presented herself as a candidate in 1999 but was not elected. In the 2004 elections, where she reentered, she was elected competing against 10 men and one woman. The Councilwoman worked during many years in the health area
Dominican Republic
Presentación Word
Amantina Gómez, Syndic of Navarrete, Province of Santiago and Vicepresident of the Union of Municipal Dominican Women (UNMUNDO)
 Gómez shared with her colleagues her experience during the creation process of UNMUNDO, created in July 2007.
The syndic of Navarrete emphasized on the increase of Dominican women in politics. In 1998 only 2 feminine syndics were present, in 2002 this figure increased to 9 and in the year 2006, 19 women were elected. Gomez also mentioned the capacity of feminine syndics to remain in power. From a total of 19 elected Councilwoman, 7 (36.8%) were reelected during recent elections.
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El Salvador
Power Point Presentation
Alba Márquez, Syndic Municipal of Soyapango, Syndics and Councilwomen of El Salvador (ANDRYSAS),
Márquez narrated the creation process of ANDRYSAS during the peace agreement periods in El Salvador and emphasized on the role that las DIGNAS, a feminist political organization, played in this process.
The syndic also narrated a series of anecdotes about the political traditions of her country and the struggles women have endured in order to participate in politics.
Media
Television Program "1 mas 1"
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