Two natives of Lake Chapala northshore communities were among the ten distinguished women honored during a session of the Jalisco State Congress Tuesday, March 8, in commemoration of International Women’s Day.
Among the recipients of the 2022 “Hermilda Galindo” recognition of outstanding achievement was Martha Rodríguez García, acknowledged for her community service, activism in environmental protection and contributions to advocacy for women’s human rights. As a member of the ejido organization in Santa Cruz de la Soledad, she has led the defense for communal land rights, standing against developers and government authorities intent on building a tourist and residential complex to house around 40,000 people on 164 hectares of ejido property.
Post mortem recognition was awarded to María Guadalupe Urzúa Flores (1912-2004), a politician and leader on rural agrarian issues from Jocotepec. Between 1955 and 1979 she served as a federal legislator representing the state of Jalisco. She was elected as mayor of Jocotepec for the 1983-1985 term.
The distinction is named after Hermila Galindo Acosta, a revolutionary, social activist and journalist who founded the magazine “La Mujer Moderna” in 1915. She was a promoter of a feminist agenda in the political sphere and the nation’s first female congressional representative.