NACLA Report on the Americas

ISSN: 1071-4839 (Print) 2471-2620 (Online) Journal homepage: http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/rnac20

Women’s Movements in the Americas: Feminism’s

Second Wave

Norma Stoltz Chinchilla

To cite this article: Norma Stoltz Chinchilla (1993) Women’s Movements in the
Americas: Feminism’s Second Wave, NACLA Report on the Americas, 27:1, 17-23, DOI:
10.1080/10714839.1993.11724645

To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10714839.1993.11724645

Published online: 01 Jun 2016.

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 REPORT ON WOMEN

Women's Movements
in the Americas:
Feminism's Second Wave
Downloaded by [University of Manitoba Libraries] at 13:45 22 June 2016

BY NORMA STOLTZ CHINCHILLA

mobilization in the late nineteenth and early twentieth

Under ocean air, some 500 Central American women

the healing
gathered rays ofresort
at the beach the sun
of and the salty
Montelimar,
Nicaragua in March of last year to discuss the ques-
tion of power. They talked about the power Central
American women have in their "public" and "private"
lives, the kind of power they would like to have, and
how to go about getting that power. The encuentro
was the largest and most diverse gathering of Central
American women in history, and the first to include
lesbian groups and discussion of lesbianism as a for-
mal part of the program. Black women educated con-
ference participants about the pain and joy of the
black female experience in the Central American con-
text, and Indian women conducted a workshop com-
paring and contrasting Indian and mestiza women's
identities and relations.
The encuentro was a
significant milestone in
Latin America's nascent
women's movement. Dur-
ing the 1970s and 1980s,
the media, the Catholic
Church and many politi-
cal parties promoted pejo-
rative caricatures of femi-
nists as self-indulgent and
egotistical, anti-family and anti-male, and divisive of
community and class solidarity. Such stigmas made it
difficult to imagine that a feminist movement of any
significance would ever take root in Latin America.
By the end of the 1980s, however, a "second wave"
of feminism-following the first surge of women's
Norma Stoltz Chinchilla is a professor of sociology and director
of the women's studies program at California State University,
Long Beach. She has published articles on women and social
movements in Latin America and is working on a book of oral
histories of Guatemalanwomen.
VOL XXVII. No 1 JULY/AUGusT 1993
century-did occur. The significant role women
played in popular and social movements throughout
the hemisphere, the exposure to feminism and
women's organizations that Latin American women
got while in exile, and exchanges with North Ameri-
can and European feminists through solidarity move-
ments created fertile
ground for the emergence
of feminism in a number
of Latin American coun-
tries, in particular Peru,
the Southern Cone, Brazil,
Mexico and the Domini-
can Republic.
Feminism arrived late in
Central America-with
the exception of Costa Rica. In part, this was due to
the overriding priorities created by war and revolu-
tion. The fierce grip on power which foreign and
domestic elites have traditionally had in the region
also quelled new social movements and kept coun-
tries isolated from one another. Multinational corpo-
rations have historically made it easier to telephone
and trade with the United States than communicate
with or travel to another Central American country.
The Montelimar encuentro marked the first time
that Central American feminists had ever tried to
work together on a region-wide event. Illustrative of
the tentative nature of the project, the word "feminist"
did not appear in the title of the event because orga-
nizers from some countries felt that many women had
not yet had a chance to explore the idea in a safe con-
text. Feminism was, however, clearly the driving
force behind the questions that framed the discussion
groups and workshops, the process or metodologia
which guided them, and the encuentro's focus on
regional strategies for increasing women's power.
17
 REPORT ON WOMEN

Women were encouraged to discuss and organize
as women-"for, of, and by women," as one organiz-
er put it. The participants shared their assessments of
how Central American women were faring in their
daily lives, as well as their aspirations and dreams for
the future. Thus the women focused on transforming
social reality not only for
others, but for themselves;
in that way the political
became personal, and the
personal political. "Many
women in Central Ameri-
ca don't have an explicit
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represented a well-earned respite from years of back-
breaking labor in the service of others, but also the
discovery of a dormant feminist orientation that had
always been repressed or put on the back burner in
favor of what seemed to be (or what were said to be)
more pressing priorities: war, revolution, the defense
of national sovereignty, the reduction of social and
economic inequality, and economic survival.
he women discussed what kind of power they
have in mixed-gender organizations, and how
much autonomy women's groups, caucuses, or
secretariats should have. Drawing on their years of

name for what they think experience as

or do; that is, they can't Sandinista act-
say 'I am a feminist for ivists, Nicaraguan
this and this reason,"' said Carmen Lucia Pellecer, a women-some of
member of the Guatemalan women's organization whom now id-
Drawing on years of
Tierra Viva, the first group to have an explicitly femi- entify primarily experience as
nist as well as popular movement focus. "But they as independent
start to develop a feminist perspective when they feminists - Sandinista activists,
begin working with women from the point of view of warned Salva-
doran and Guate-
Nicaraguan women
women. They start out working for other women, and
they end up working for themselves as well. It's at malan women not warned Salvadoran
that point that the women begin to look for or to equate partici-
demand their own spaces."' pation with gen- and Guatemalan
Implicit in discussion at the encuentro was the der equality. They women not to equate
assumption that all women-not just poor and work- also advised their
ing-class women-share to some extent the experi- counterparts not participation with
ence of sexism and subordination, and that cross- to expect that
class coalitions and alliances can be formed to work dedication, sacri- gender equality.
on common projects. Implicit as well, although not fice and heroism
shared by all the women present, was the assumption would automati-
that even though women's subordination is inter- cally guarantee
related with other forms of exploitation and oppres- women's interests in the peace process, or women's
sion-such as those based on class, imperialism or leadership in the new civil institutions and organiza-
ethnicity-it must be addressed directly. The Region- tions being established.
al Organizing Committee's statement provides a good The Nicaraguan women argued that women need to
working definition of feminism: demand recognition as women, independent of what-
Our politics are feminist because feminism proposes a ever social sectors or groups they represent. They
personal and collective way of life that rejects unequal contended that women should present the state and
power relations not only among the sexes but also in their social, religious, educational, and political orga-
society as a whole. Feminism is a traditional social nizations with gender-specific and feminist demands,
practice in Latin America and we Central American such as the right to autonomous women's spaces
women are contributing our own elements to this tradi- within and outside other sectoral and political
tion. We are a large constituency that seeks to build a organizations, direct representation of women's inter-
kind of feminism that is rooted in our material condi- ests, and the promotion of women's leadership and
tions of life and from which we seek to develop propos-
2 women electoral candidates at the municipal and
als for overall change.
national levels.
In the idyllic setting of Montelimar, many women "We have come from a very long war, a difficult
broached potentially controversial and previously process in which our needs and demands have been
"taboo" topics, ranging from women's power in postponed by the war and the specific circumstances
"mixed" organizations and institutions, to domestic we have faced," said Morena Herrera, a Salvadoran
violence, reproductive rights, sexual orientation, and activist and leader of Mujeres por la Dignidad y la
sexuality. For many women, the encuentro not only Vida. "At this moment, the familiar argument is that
REPORT ON THE AMERICAS
18NACLA
18 NACIA REPORT ON THE AMERICAS
 REPORT
national reconstruction
and the upcoming elec-
tions in 1994 are impor-
tant and that women's
concerns should wait
until after the elections.
This conference has
allowed us to say 'No
more.' We are not going
to keep postponing our
needs, our demands and our struggles."
The women spiritedly debated how much and what
kind of autonomy should be sought in the consolida-
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tion of Central American feminism. They agreed that
autonomy is multi-dimensional-personal, econom-
ic, institutional, political, and ideological. For exam-
ple, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) that are
focused on explicitly feminist projects may be politi-
cally and organizationally independent of
the state and leftist political parties, but economically
dependent on external funding, which may carry
certain ideological and political conditions. Like-
wise, women in unions and political parties may
gain the right to select their own leadership and
determine their own agenda, but they may lack per-
sonal autonomy with respect to families, boyfriends,
and spouses.
The women were divided over the question of
whether to build autonomous feminist groups or
work within existing mixed organizations. Those
who favored autonomy argued that women should
make a clean break with the hierarchical, male-domi-
nated political organizations of the past, and create
their own organizations in which they don't have to
constantly justify the importance of their projects to
men. Those who favored working for feminist agen-
das within mixed organizations countered that
women risk becoming isolated politically if they do
not struggle for power and influence within existing
political organizations.
Moreover, they contended,
the feminist movement
should take advantage of
the many women-espe-
cially working-class, poor
and "minority" women--
who may already be orga-
nized. They also worried
that with human and
material resources scarce, a dispersion of effort may
concede territory to the enemies of feminism in the
broader conservative political context.
This debate was a reflection of that taking place in
Nicaragua where tensions have appeared between
independent feminists and female political-party mil-
VOL XXVII. No 1 JULY/AUGUST 1993
ON WOMEN
itants. A number of party militants feel that the inde-
pendent feminists regard them as impure in their fem-
inism and inherently subordinate to men in their
political-party activities. Independent feminists, on
the other hand, feel that their credentials as revolu-
d tionaries and commitment to class struggle in Latin
America are being questioned. The tension between
z the two sides is reminiscent of that between "las
politicas" and "las feministas" in the early stages of
the feminist movement in the Southern Cone. The
difference, however, is that in Central America, both
sides have a history of feminist activism. Exacerbat-
ing the tension is the fact that many of the
Nicaraguan women who line up on opposing sides of
the debate were once comrades in the Sandinista
Front.
In Her Own Words...
Sexual Harassment
Last year, writer and activist Margaret Randall returned
to Nicaragua to talk to women about their participation in
the revolution. She had interviewed many of the women
10 years previously for her book Sandino's Daughters
(Vancouver New Star Books, 1981). The following
excerpts are taken from Sandino's DaughtersRevisited,
which will be published by Rutgers Unives
University Press and
New Star Books in 1994.
Scan tell you there were plenty of sexual pressures.
lAccording to a number of our male leaders, women
continued to be seen as "meat" or "cattle," as our
macho slang would have it The quickest and easiest
way for political women to acquire a "protector"and
gain direct access to power was by sleeping with those
in power. And who knows what my life would have
been like if I'd had that sort of safety net.
In fact when I left the Ministry of Culture, one of the
comandantes wanted to send me to Foreign Relations,
also in the capacity of Vice Minister. I was never privy
to the behind-the-scenes discussions so I don't really
know what was on his mind. But I can tell you that
some time later this same man started literally stalking
me: it was invitation after invitation, insinuationafter
insinuation.One day I called him up and invited him to
lunch. I had to tell him, "Look, I admireyou tremen-
dously. I respect you. You're one of the leaders of this
revolution. But I need you to understand that I'm a
free person, with all the rights that implies, and I'm
absolutely capable of deciding who I want to have a
relationship with. Believe it or not, I'm not attracted to
you just because you're a comandante. So I'm asking
you to respect my decision and I hope we can remain
friends." I remember he hardly touched his food. He
left the table and for quite some time he wouldn't
even say hello. -Daisy Zamora
19
 REPORT ON
In Nicaragua, as well as at the encuentro, there is
agreement on the importance of promoting a feminist
agenda within mixed organizations. Everyone agrees
that women in mixed organizations should have the
right to discuss and rank their priorities and choose
their leadership. Autonomous women's institutions and
organizations, most activists believe, play an important
role by providing a safe place for women to recharge
their batteries, accumulate independent resources, and
unleash their creativity. Moreover, the women in
autonomous organizations
can also still pursue close
links to women who are
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organized or can potential-
ly be organized around
other issues and move-
ments-for example,
human rights, class, neigh-
borhood, religion, environ-
ment, or ethnicity.
Bridging their differences, a number of the women
at the encuentro felt that given the diversity of
women activists and the degree to which their person-
al as well as political lives may be in flux, women
may feel comfortable in different organizational
forms at different points in time, or may burn out in
one organizational form but blossom in another.
Some women may prefer working in all-female,
explicitly feminist groups, while other women who
strongly identify with a community or sector may
prefer to promote a feminist agenda within mixed
groups. The challenge is to link up the various orga-
nizational forms and forge a powerful collective
Central
political force.
American women are not alone in debat-
ing the question of how women's movements
should relate to the state, to each other, and to
other progressive sectors, organizations and issues. In
Chile, for example, where women played a central
role in resistance to the military dictatorship, the fem-
inist movement has worked hard to push for the
inclusion of women's demands in the platforms and
agendas of political parties, and to generate aware-
ness of women as a political constituency. Neverthe-
less, the women's movement seems to have been, to a
large extent, marginalized by political parties since
3
the transition to electoral democracy.
The Chilean government has been able to coopt the
feminist agenda by creating a national women's office
with ministerial rank-Servicio Nacional de la Mujer
(SERNAM). SERNAM was established not only to
propose and develop programs to improve the lives of
women, but also to monitor other state agencies. It
thus gives a public, state-legitimized face to the strug-
20NACLA
20
WOMEN
gle against discrimination against women. Like any
regulatory agency which is both part of and depen-
dent upon the state while at the same time charged
with monitoring the state, its position is, by defini-
tion, contradictory. While there are several well-
known feminists in key positions in SERNAM, the
majority of the appointees, including the director, are
women who have little history or experience working
in or with women's organizations. Moreover, with its
conservative discourse on family preservation, SER-
NAM has seemed to go out of its way to antagonize
the women's movement.
In part, SERNAM's ability to establish itself as the
interlocutor for women is a reflection of the weakness
of the women's movement itself. This weakness, in
turn, is a reflection of how difficult it is to re-define
and re-orient a
women's movement
born in unified
The question of
opposition to a dic-
tatorship in order to what relationship the
create a strong
mass-based, cross- women's movement
class movement. In should establish with
the fledgling
democracies of the NGOs has become
Southern Cone, the
independent femi-
vital in countries
nist movement must experiencing the
define itself not
only in relation to repercussions of
the state and politi-
cal parties, but also
neoliberal economic
in relation to well reforms.
funded non-govern-
mental organiza-
tions (NGOs) which
carry out much of the community-based, grassroots
work that many pre-democracy women's organiza-
tions used to do.
The question of what relationship the women's
movement should establish with NGOs-even femi-
nist NGOs-has become vital in countries experienc-
ing the repercussions of neoliberal economic reforms.
In Chile, for example, the external funding that once
supported women's political activism has greatly
diminished. That which still exists has largely revert-
ed to its traditional pattern of favoring social and eco-
nomic development projects, albeit with a greater
gender consciousness than before.
In a time of dramatic cutbacks in state spending and
heavy downward pressures on the standard of living,
the importance of having paid organizers and profes-
sionals on staff at NGOs cannot be discounted. This
makes it possible for a certain number of women to
REPORT ON THE AMERICAS
NACIA REPORT ON THE AMERICAS
 REPORT
devote themselves full-
time to working for
change on behalf of
women and to promoting
general projects that are
"gender-conscious." But
Z some women activists
Z argue that in the context
of a weak women's
movement, NGOs can
become the substitute for a broad-based, cross-class
feminist movement. In this scenario, the NGOs might
wrongly conflate their own desire to survive and
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grow with the needs of women as a whole.
The emergence of feminist and women-oriented
NGOs-such as cultural projects, service centers, and
independent research groups-gives Latin American
feminism a stability and wealth of resources that
never existed before. At the same time, the growth of
these institutions results in a potentially problematic
distinction between "professional feminists" who are
"credentialed" by the national and international
development establishments as "women's advocates,"
and "militantes" who may be "increasingly marginal-
ized from both policymaking and funding networks." 4
At the same time, financing for feminist institutions
can be very fickle. It can vary greatly over time,
depending on the political context and the momentary
popularity of different causes for funding sources.
razilian feminists face many of the same strate-
gic challenges as their Chilean counterparts in
their relationship to the state as a result of the
transition to electoral democracy. Despite the fact that
feminism is less visible than it was five years ago, and
some feminists are disap-
pointed with how political
parties have appropriated
their claims, the Brazilian
feminist movement con-
tinues to be the largest,
most vital and diverse in
the hemisphere.
The current expressions
of Brazilian feminism are
cultural as well as political. On the political front,
women have fought to make government-sponsored
women's police stations more responsive to women's
needs, and to ensure that the municipal, state and
regional governments effectively implement progres-
sive gender laws. In the cultural realm, women have
developed popular feminist film and video, and Afro-
Brazilian feminist aesthetics in the fields of music,
dance and theater. Like Chile, Brazil has feminist
newspapers, radio stations, publishing houses and
VOL XXVII. JULY/AUGUST 1993
No 11JULY/AUGUST
XXVII. No 1993
ON WOMEN
bookstores, as well as women's studies programs and
research centers. A number of open lesbian groups
now participate in both the feminist and gay libera-
tion movements.
In Her Own Words...
Party of the Erotic Left
P I.E. stands for Party of the Erotic Left. A group of
feminists began getting together, more than any-
thing to talk about what was going on in the
women's movement, because it was clear that the
Sandinista women's movement operated more in line
with male interests, with the so-called "interests of the
nation." They kept telling us that we had to put off
talking about women's problems until we'd won the
war, until the economy was back on its feet,
until... whatever.After all that had been accomplished,
then we could talk about feminist issues.
By that time [the early 1980s] we women had expe-
rienced a real loss of power. We'd led troops into bat-
tle, we'd done all sorts of things, and then as soon as
the Sandinistas took office we were displaced from
the important posts. We'd had to content ourselves
with intermediate-level positions for the most part.
Besides, I remember at the beginning of the revolution
it was practically a mortal sin if you mentioned your
family. If a woman said, "Ican't go to that meeting on
Sunday because I have to be with my children," that
simply wasn't acceptable.
We argued that this wasn't productive, that our
own children were going to turn against the revolu-
tion because they were inevitably going to identify it
with the loss of their parents. We had family obliga-
tions and they were important I remember quoting a
phrase of Jean Paul Sartre's: "I don't believe in the rev-
olutionary who says he loves his people but is unable
to love those closest to him." But this wasn't a popular
point of view. And a whole process of displacement
had begun. Even in our own organization, in AMN-
LAE, we thought we would have a voice. But it
became apparent that we didn't. Women's issues just
r kept on being put off, eternally.
J
f Our most important problems always seemed to be
considered secondary. We couldn't talk about abor-
tion "because it means fighting the Catholic Church."
So as I say, a few of us began getting together to talk
about t things. We didn't call ourselves the P.I.E
at first, but later--joking around-we adopted the
name. It comes from Ana Maria Rodas, a Guatemalan
poet who has a book called Poemas de la izquierda
erotica (Poems of the Erotic Left). That's how we
chose the initials: P.I.E. We even thought of designing
a logo: a woman's foot with painted toenails!
-Gioconda Belli
21
21
 REPORT
The focal point of much of the Brazilian feminist
movement, however, continues to be the state.5 Dur-
ing the 1980s, the Brazilian state went from being
considered "women's worst enemy" to "women's
best friend" as the result of the formulation of many
feminist demands into public policy proposals, and
the unprecedented inclusion of women's rights provi-
sions in the new federal constitution. In addition, the
national government created women's spaces, such as
councils on the status of women and women's police
stations.
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In Her Own Words...
Mothers and Children
MA y husband tried to make me feel guilty-and I've
IViseen this happen with other women-guilty
about my children. He'd tell them: "Your mother is
more interested in the revolution than she is in you.
For her, society comes first, before her own children."
It was systematic. And of course this is something we
women have talked about. Making a revolution is a
very absorbing task. It takes a lot of time and effort. It
wasn't easy for us to juggle our roles as mothers and
as revolutionaries.
Many of our children-particularlyin the middle
class where we had the privilege of having domestic
help-were left alone for long periods of time. It's one
of the contradictions you have to deal with. But when
I've talked to my sons and daughters about this, I've
told them: "Look, what you have to understandis that
the revolution is for everyone, and we must all situate
ourselves in that reality." Of course my dream was to
have one of those families where everyone was com-
mitted to the struggle: husband, wife, and kids. I
dreamed about a family where everyone went out to
do whatever task they were involved in, and then
came back together and shared their experiences with
one another. The impossibility of this in my own life
has been very painful for me. All the insinuations, the
pressures, my children's father trying to turn them
againstme.
As a mother I fought againstthat sense of guilt. And
I tried to interest my sons and my daughters in the
tasks of the revolution. But I always tried to respect my
children's choices, even when it hurt me terribly that
three of them didn't opt for the revolution. It hurt me
because they're my children. And I believed and con-
tinue to believe in the ideal of a society with justice for
all. A society different from the one I grew up in. And
it's frustrating to realize that I wasn't able to pass that
ideal on to all my children. It makes me very sad. If I
find politicalapathy unpleasant in an adult, I find it all
the more disagreeablein a child.
-Vidaluz Meneses
22
22
ON WOMEN
The transition to demo-
cratic rule did not, how-
ever, abolish the essen-
tially patriarchal and
racist character of the
Brazilian state. Nor did it
slow down the rush to
neoliberal state policies.
Confronted with these
limits, especially at the
federal level, Brazilian feminists have continually had
to think creatively and strategically about how, at
what level, and in what ways to intervene in the state
to ensure that their efforts to extend and redefine
women's citizenship have the greatest possible
impact.
Urban movements, often led by the Brazilian
Workers Party (PT), have managed to successfully
organize and secure political and social rights at the
municipal and state levels. The overwhelming majori-
ty of participants in these movements continue to be
women. As a consequence, many Brazilian feminists,
while not abandoning efforts to change federal poli-
cies, have chosen to focus on influencing local levels
of government that are "closer to home, potentially
more permeable, and more vulnerable to citizen
scrutiny and intervention." 5 The Sio Paulo Council
on the Status of Women, for example, last year
launched a campaign for "The Year of the Implemen-
tation of Legislation on the Equality of Women."
This year they persuaded Sio Paulo Governor Luiz
Antonio Fleury Filho to promulgate a state-sponsored
"Convention on the Rights of Women," to be signed
by the governor and dozens of mayors in September
of this year.
The Workers Party's conscious policy of pressuring
for greater decentralization of state authority
and resources, and its unexpectedly successful 1988
electoral victories in Sio Paulo and two dozen other
Brazilian cities have helped to focus grassroots
activism on local and regional government to
a degree that is unusual in Latin America. While the
states and localities are chronically underfunded, the
focus on local governance deepens democratic partici-
pation in ways that miti-
gate the effects of struc-
tural adjustment on poor
and working-class citi-
zens. This focus on local
and regional struggles,
underpinned by neighbor-
" hood and grassroots orga-
nizing, cannot help but
I
strengthen women's ac-
tivism and leadership.
N&CI.A REPORT ON THE AMERICAS
NACIA REPORT ON THE AMERICAS
 REPORT
f there is one trend which characterizes women's
organizing throughout the hemisphere, it is the
growing diversity of organizational forms, strate-
gies, and creative efforts. This diversity is both a
reflection of the great vitality and strength of the
women's movement in this profoundly conservative
era and an enormous strategic challenge. How can
women's diverse expressions of discontent and resis-
tance be coordinated so as to expand and defend
grassroots democracy? How can the movement recog-
nize and accept, for example, that women come to
feminism and gender-specific activism through a mul-
tiplicity of paths-through religious activity, in
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defense of their families and children, through
activism around racial, ethnic, environmental or sexu-
al orientation issues, or in response to the economic
crisis? How can a feminist current be injected into
other struggles without forcing them to be ranked in
order of importance?
The political, economic, and cultural room within
which feminism has to maneuver in the Southern
Cone (as well as Mexico and Costa Rica) still seems
great in comparison to the
obstacles that feminists
and women activists still
have to overcome in
Nicaragua, El Salvador
and Guatemala. In the lat-
ter three countries, femi-
nism was born out of war
and revolution, with all the
deprivations and sacrifices
that those cataclysmic
events brought with them. While, to a large extent, the
disruption of the old order made feminist and gender-
specific organizing possible, the rebuilding process is
much greater than in the Southern Cone where a polit-
ical infrastructure and culture are already in place.
Throughout the hemisphere, however, women's
movements face significant challenges. The disastrous
effects of neoliberal economic policy makes this a dif-
ficult moment in history for women's struggle. "We
feminists began to talk about wanting power at a very
difficult moment in history, at precisely that moment
when the power slipped away from our closest allies,
that is, leftist men," veteran Dominican feminist Mag-
ali Pifieda observed. "At this moment in history, it
seems that all societies have entered into a conserva-
tive stage, where deep [structural] changes don't
appear possible. But it is better that we arrive late to
the idea than not at all." 6
But precisely because the situation calls for imagi-
native responses and new visions, Latin American
women are increasingly dissatisfied with promises of
indirect access to power. To those who continue to
VOL XXVI!,
VOL JULY/AuGUST 1993
No 11JULY/AUGUST
XXVII. No 1993
ON WOMEN
underestimate the potential power of Latin American
feminism to redefine power and politics, Pifieda has a
warning: "If people were afraid of communism as a
radical specter that would haunt the world, they should
really be afraid now because the specter of feminism
is the one that is really radical...radical because we
want to change things at the root...."'7
In Her Own Words...
Fathers and Daughters
ith my father, well, it was much more difficult. I
was relieved when he completed his 30 years
with the National Guard, and was ready to retire.I was
incredibly relieved because years before, when I'd been
involved in those student demonstrations, I remem-
bered the Guardshowing up on the street that borders
the campus. My father was a comandante with the
police at the time. When they launched their tear gas
bombs, it was horrible for me. I suppose I was afraid
like everyone else, but my worst fear was having to
confront my father. I didn't think I could do that; it was
so complicated. It just hurt too much: the thought that
my own father would be forced to arrestme.
And I lived with that all along. There were a number
of us in the Front who were daughters of Somocistas.
The sons and daughters of the National Guard were
constantly faced with the possibility of having to face
our fathers in battle-in an armed confrontation, or if
they picked us up. Emotionally I knew I wasn't strong
enough for that
Then Somoza asked my father to accept the appoint-
ment as ambassadorto Guatemala. As his daughterat
least I tried to help my father do ann acceptable job as
ambassador.I gave him a book called The Diplomat's
ABC. I wanted him to learn something about diploma-
cy. I didn't want hi to be seen as ridiculous, as one of
those ignorant law-and-order types. I remember telling
my mother that it would be a good idea if my father
organized a library with Nicaraguan books there at the
embassy. I said that he could invite the Nicaraguanstu-
dents in Guatemala to use it; that it would be a nice
gesture, a contribution. My father agreed. One of my
younger sisters went to help him set that library up, I
bought books for it here, and she and my mother went
to organize it.
By now we're talking 1976, 1977. The crisis was
becoming more and more acute. I became more and
more involved in the struggle against the dictatorship.I
wanted to separate my life from his as completely as
possible. But it was hard. I always thought he might
find out what I was doing. And I also didn't want any-
one ever to have to ask him for help, I mean in terms
of getting me out if I got arrested.
-Vidaluz Menses
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