María del Refugio García (ca. 1898 – 1970) is an important figure in the early struggle for

women's rights in Mexico The status of women in Mexico has changed significantly over time. Until the twentieth century, Mexico was an overwhelmingly rural country, with rural women's status defined within the context of the family and local community. With urbanizati ...

Early life

García was born in lake region of

Uruapan Uruapan () is the second largest city in the Mexico, Mexican state of Michoacán. It is located at the western edge of the Tarascan Plateau, Purépecha highlands, just to the east of the Tierra Caliente (Mexico), Tierra Caliente region. Since the c ...

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

. Her father was a village doctor. She made her first speech to the country people when she was a girl, described as still wearing short skirts and

braids A braid (also referred to as a plait; ) is a complex structure or pattern formed by interlacing three or more strands of flexible material such as textile yarns, wire, or hair. The simplest and most common version is a flat, solid, three-strand ...

down her back. She urged her audience to defend themselves against the

tyranny A tyrant (), in the modern English language, English usage of the word, is an autocracy, absolute ruler who is unrestrained by law, or one who has usurper, usurped a legitimate ruler's sovereignty. Often portrayed as cruel, tyrants may defen ...

of the

dictator A dictator is a political leader who possesses absolute Power (social and political), power. A dictatorship is a state ruled by one dictator or by a polity. The word originated as the title of a Roman dictator elected by the Roman Senate to r ...

, President Díaz. Her reputation as a radical speaker became well known.

Politics

At the first Mexican congress held in

Mexico City Mexico City is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Mexico, largest city of Mexico, as well as the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North America. It is one of the most important cultural and finan ...

in 1934, García endorsed

Marxist Marxism is a political philosophy and method of socioeconomic analysis. It uses a dialectical and materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to analyse class relations, social conflic ...

thinking that

prostitution Prostitution is a type of sex work that involves engaging in sexual activity in exchange for payment. The definition of "sexual activity" varies, and is often defined as an activity requiring physical contact (e.g., sexual intercourse, no ...

was caused by

poverty Poverty is a state or condition in which an individual lacks the financial resources and essentials for a basic standard of living. Poverty can have diverse Biophysical environmen ...

and would never be eradicated while a

capitalist Capitalism is an economic system based on the private ownership of the means of production and their use for the purpose of obtaining profit. This socioeconomic system has developed historically through several stages and is defined by ...

system prevailed. She called for

grassroots A grassroots movement is one that uses the people in a given district, region or community as the basis for a political or continent movement. Grassroots movements and organizations use collective action from volunteers at the local level to imp ...

campaigning to ameliorate the conditions of poverty in which people lived and to educate women. García believed that

self-respect Self-esteem is confidence in one's own worth, abilities, or morals. Self-esteem encompasses beliefs about oneself (for example, "I am loved", "I am worthy") as well as emotional states, such as triumph, despair, pride, and shame. Smith and Macki ...

could only be gained through

equal pay for equal work Equal pay for equal work is the concept of labour rights that individuals in the same workplace be given equal pay. It is most commonly used in the context of sexual discrimination, in relation to the gender pay gap. Equal pay relates to the fu ...

and that women would not need to turn to prostitution if they had access to cheaper food,

state housing Public housing, also known as social housing, refers to Subsidized housing, subsidized or affordable housing provided in buildings that are usually owned and managed by local government, central government, nonprofit organizations or a ...

child care Child care, also known as day care, is the care and supervision of one or more children, typically ranging from three months to 18 years old. Although most parents spend a significant amount of time caring for their child(ren), childcare typica ...

facilities, free school,

textbooks A textbook is a book containing a comprehensive compilation of content in a branch of study with the intention of explaining it. Textbooks are produced to meet the needs of educators, usually at educational institutions, but also of learners ( ...

, and school meals. García regularly contributed to ''Machete'', the journal of the

Mexican Communist Party The Mexican Communist Party (, PCM) was a communist party in Mexico. It was founded in 1917 as the Socialist Workers' Party (, PSO) by Manabendra Nath Roy, a left-wing Indian revolutionary. The PSO changed its name to the ''Mexican Communist ...

. In 1935 she was a cofounder of the Sole Front for Women’s Rights. She worked with radical groups for women’s suffrage and the right to stand for office – they called for amendments to the

civil code A civil code is a codification of private law relating to property law, property, family law, family, and law of obligations, obligations. A jurisdiction that has a civil code generally also has a code of civil procedure. In some jurisdiction ...

that would allow women equal political rights. They also argued for the agrarian code to be modified to allow women the right to apply for government

land grants A land grant is a gift of real estate—land or its use privileges—made by a government or other authority as an incentive, means of enabling works, or as a reward for services to an individual, especially in return for military service. Grants ...

. She also addressed worker’s rights, calling for all women to be allowed

maternity rights Parental leave, or family leave, is an employee benefit available in almost all countries. The term "parental leave" may include maternity, paternity, and adoption leave; or may be used distinctively from "maternity leave" and "paternity leave ...

, for

indigenous Indigenous may refer to: *Indigenous peoples *Indigenous (ecology) In biogeography, a native species is indigenous to a given region or ecosystem if its presence in that region is the result of only local natural evolution (though often populari ...

women to be encouraged to take their place in society and politics, and for

unemployed Unemployment, according to the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development), is the proportion of people above a specified age (usually 15) not being in paid employment or self-employment but currently available for Work (hu ...

women to be helped by establishing work center. At its height, the Sole Front had a membership of 50,000 women, taking in over 800 women’s groups.

1937 election

In 1937, Mexican feminists challenged the wording of the Constitution concerning who is eligible for citizenship - the constitution did not specify “men and women.” They fought for women's right to vote. García ran for election as a Sole Front candidate for her home district, Uruapan, to the Mexican Chamber of Deputies. She won by a huge margin, but was not allowed to take her seat because the government would have to amend the Constitution first. In response, García went on a

hunger strike A hunger strike is a method of non-violent resistance where participants fasting, fast as an act of political protest, usually with the objective of achieving a specific goal, such as a policy change. Hunger strikers that do not take fluids are ...

outside President

Lázaro Cárdenas Lázaro Cárdenas del Río (; 21 May 1895 – 19 October 1970) was a Mexican army officer and politician who served as president of Mexico from 1934 to 1940. Previously, he served as a general in the Constitutional Army during the Mexican Revo ...

’ residence in

for 11 days in August 1937. Cárdenas responded by promising to change Article 34 in the constitution that September. By December, the amendment had been passed by Congress, and women were granted full

citizenship Citizenship is a membership and allegiance to a sovereign state. Though citizenship is often conflated with nationality in today's English-speaking world, international law does not usually use the term ''citizenship'' to refer to nationalit ...

. However, the vote for women in Mexico was not granted until 1958.

Teaching

García taught at La Huerta Agricultural School, where she gave

seminars A seminar is a form of academic instruction, either at an academic institution or offered by a commercial or professional organization. It has the function of bringing together small groups for recurring meetings, focusing each time on some part ...

scientific materialism Metaphysical naturalism (also called ontological naturalism, philosophical naturalism and antisupernaturalism) is a philosophical worldview which holds that there is nothing but natural elements, principles, and relations of the kind studied by ...

and other radical doctrines.

Death and legacy

García is remembered as one of the most genuinely popular women in Mexico. Despite her high-profile campaigning, she died, probably

destitute Extreme poverty is the most severe type of poverty, defined by the United Nations (UN) as "a condition characterized by severe deprivation of basic human needs, including food, safe drinking water, sanitation facilities, health, shelter, ...

, sometime in the 1970s. Today her name appears mainly in specialist books on Mexican history of the early twentieth century.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Garcia, Maria del Refugio 1890s births 1970 deaths Mexican feminists Mexican women's rights activists People from Uruapan Year of birth uncertain