Women's policy agencies and government ideology: the divergent trajectories of Argentina and Brazil, 2003-2019

Abstract

This article examines the institutional evolution of women’s policy agencies (WPAs) in Argentina and Brazil over a 15-year period. By using a classification of WPA institutional types proposed by scholarly literature on state feminism, I identify contrasting trajectories of how WPAs developed under left- and then right-wing governments: in Argentina the WPA moved from overt irrelevance to a marginal position, whereas in Brazil a robust WPA embedded in feminist movements became an anti-feminist agency. What factors explain these divergent institutional outcomes? More broadly, what processes mediate the link between WPA attributes and government ideology? My longitudinal case comparison shows that political authorities do not make decisions about the formal structure and policy orientation of WPAs based on ideology alone. WPA attributes are part of what governments more instrumentally negotiate when they need to build constituencies or, alternatively, reciprocate loyalties, depending on their popular support, the overall demands and mobilization capacities of their core allies, and the extent to which feminists play a role in party politics and electoral campaigns.