Women's Day in Latin America: Pending debts and threats of regression

In Latin America, International Women's Day comes with a mix of demands for equality that accumulate outstanding accounts and new threats of regression. Despite progress in some countries, gender-based violence remains one of the most pressing issues, with alarming numbers of femicides revealing a latent impunity. According to data from the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean, a woman is murdered for gender reasons every two hours on the continent. In addition, women continue to face barriers in accessing positions of power and experience greater job precarity compared to men. In the labor field, Latin American women mostly take on unpaid work, resulting in an unequal workload in the private sphere. While men devote less time to unpaid tasks, women spend between 30% and 42% of their working time on these duties. Given this situation, massive demonstrations are expected on March 8 with demands for outstanding debts and in response to the risk of setbacks. In countries like Argentina, the arrival of far-right political leaders, such as Javier Milei, has raised concerns among the female population, fearing the loss of achievements like legal abortion and setbacks in gender perspective policies. In Mexico, the upcoming elections could lead to a woman becoming president for the first time, amidst a context of high gender-based violence. Despite some legislative advances in the region, such as the approval of comprehensive laws against violence towards women, challenges persist in the effective implementation of gender policies and in the protection of women's rights. On this International Women's Day, the fight for equality continues in Latin America, with the need to overcome obstacles and ensure the full respect of women's rights in all areas of society. The scheduled demonstrations and mobilizations serve as a reminder that the struggle for gender equality remains a priority in the region.