We have a new dispatch from NOSHA friend, Bob Patience, who resides in Mexico. He offers a highlight of what he thinks are important changes to Mexico’s society.

A liberal, progressive Mexico may be counterintuitive. Crime and corruption get the headlines and there is homophobia and misogyny in rural areas. However, Mexico is more progressive than I ever realized. I live in a city of 5.4 million people, Guadalajara. It is a prosperous, modern and progressive city with deep historical roots. I lived in Ajijic two years before I moved to Guadalajara. Ajijic is a very small village tucked up high in the Sierra Madre Mountain Range. It has two Catholic churches, one dildo shop, and one paved road.

He has offered the following excerpt from Forbes magazine:

“Mexico’s top two political parties selected female presidential nominees, virtually ensuring that the nation’s next leader will be a woman. It will be a historic first for the country, which has established itself as a global leader in promoting gender equality in government.”

“The rise of women in political power in Mexico can be attributed to years of increasingly stringent quotas for women in government positions. These efforts culminated in a bold 2019 constitutional reform called “gender parity in everything.” This legislation required that political parties put forward equal numbers of male and female candidates for congressional seats, governorships, municipal government positions and even the Supreme Court. As a result of the legislation, Mexico has become a trailblazer in gender equity in politics.

“I think they really have positioned themselves as a global leader on this issue,” says Jennifer Piscopo, a professor of gender and politics at the Royal Holloway University of London.”

In total, Mexico ranks fourth when it comes to female representation in parliaments throughout the world.

By comparison, the United States is not close to achieving gender parity and occupies the 70th position in rankings of female representation in national parliaments. In the U.S., only 25% of senators and 28.8% of representatives are women.”

PHOTO: The leading candidate for the presidency of Mexico, former Mexico City Mayor Claudia Sheinbaum. She is a candidate in the 2024 Mexican general election.