The Feminist Party of Chile was a Chilean political party, created in 1946 and active until 1954. Its goals were to obtain

women's suffrage Women's suffrage is the women's rights, right of women to Suffrage, vote in elections. Several instances occurred in recent centuries where women were selectively given, then stripped of, the right to vote. In Sweden, conditional women's suffra ...

in Chile, which was granted in 1949.

History

The party was formed in 1946 by María de la Cruz Toledo. It is possible that at its peak the party consisted of 27 thousand members. In 1951, the group fractured when De la Cruz tried to impose her favored candidate for the presidency of the party in

Magallanes Region The Magallanes Region (), officially the Magallanes y la Antártica Chilena Region () or Magallanes and the Chilean Antarctica Region in English, is one of Chile's 16 first order administrative divisions. It is the southernmost, largest, and sec ...

. The group headed by Nery Hamuy formed the Progressive Women's Party. In 1952, the party supported

Carlos Ibáñez del Campo General Carlos Ibáñez del Campo (; 3 November 1877 – 28 April 1960) was a Chilean Army officer and political figure. He served as president twice, first between 1927 and 1931, and then from 1952 to 1958, serving for 10 years in office. E ...

and tipped the scales in his favor within women, who were voting for the first time. In the parliamentary elections of 1953 a female deputy was elected, and in the

by-election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, or a bypoll in India, is an election used to fill an office that has become vacant between general elections. A vacancy may arise as a result of an incumben ...

to choose the successor of Carlos Ibáñez, María de la Cruz became the first female senator of Chile, but was later disqualified by the rest of the Senate. There is evidence that the party received money from the

Argentine Argentines, Argentinians or Argentineans are people from Argentina. This connection may be residential, legal, historical, or cultural. For most Argentines, several (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their ...

Peronist Party The Justicialist Party (, ; abbr. PJ) is a major political party in Argentina, and the largest branch within Peronism. Following the 2023 presidential election, it has been the largest party in the opposition against President Javier Milei. Fou ...

. According to the writer and former party leader,

Matilde Ladrón de Guevara Matilde Ladrón de Guevara (18 August 1910 – 22 August 2009) was a Chilean poet, feminist, and writer. She was a member of her country's Generation of '50, which also included , Elisa Serrana, Elena Aldunate, and Mercedes Valdivieso. Biogra ...

, the leaders traveled constantly to Argentina between 1950 and 1960 to seek funds that were later not deposited in the party's coffers. María de la Cruz, in the midst of an anti-Peronist movement in Chilean politics, was discharged from her position as senator for these criminal acts, although the Courts later declared her innocent.

Election results

Parliamentary elections

Footnotes and references

Footnotes

Bibliography

* *

External links

{{Authority control Political parties disestablished in 1954 Political parties established in 1946 Defunct political parties in Chile History of women in Chile