The applause echoed through the vaulted halls of the Centro Cultural El Refugio in Tlaquepaque as 18 women stepped onto the stage, one by one, to receive their plaques of recognition. Each name carried its own story — of perseverance, innovation, and care — together forming a living portrait of the theme chosen by the Instituto Electoral y de Participación Ciudadana (IEPC) de Jalisco for this year’s Reconocimiento al Affidamento: “Confianza que transforma, redes que sostienen” — Trust that transforms, networks that sustain.
The word affidamento, borrowed from Italian feminist philosophy, describes the bonds of trust and mutual empowerment that women build among themselves — relationships that change not only lives but institutions.
Presiding over the ceremony, IEPC President Paula Ramírez Höhne reminded the audience that Mexico marks 72 years since women gained the right to vote and noted how far that struggle has carried them: women now lead 13 of Mexico’s 32 states and some of its most populous municipalities, and have gained gender parity in Congress (By contrast, women hold roughly 24 percent of U.S. governorships and 29 percent of congressional seats, while in Mexico they now lead about 41 percent of states and hold full gender parity in Congress.)
“Power is not given,” Ramírez Höhne said pointedly. “It is conquered.”
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