Elvia Carrillo Puerto
 | This article is missing information about the last 40 years of her life. (December 2018) |
Elvia Carillo Puerto | |
|---|---|
Yucatán | |
| Died | 15 April 1968 (aged 89) |
| Occupation(s) | Activist, feminist, suffragist |
| Spouse | Vicente Pérez Mendiburo |
| Children | Marcial |
| Parent(s) | Adela Puerto Solís and Justiniano Carrillo Pasos |
Elvia Carrillo Puerto (6 December 1878 – 15 April 1968)
Feminist leagues
1912–1922
Elvia Carrillo Puerto is credited with starting numerous feminist organizations in Mexico, the most prominent being the
1923–1931
Carrillo devoted herself full-time to touring Southeastern Mexico with the goal of organizing Maya women into leagues and preparing them for civic responsibility.[3] The leagues would identify women of special aptitude and train them to fill elective posts in the city and state government. After Carrillo's brother, Governor Felipe Carrillo Puerto, permitted women the right to vote and hold office, in 1923 she was elected to the Yucatán state legislature, becoming Mexico's first female member of a state legislature.[4][8] Carrillo won the election by an overwhelming 5,115 votes.[5] As a lawmaker, Carillo promoted the issue of land reform, proposing plans that would provide campesinos with farms capable of sustaining their families.[8] She also organized local chapters of women into Gualbertista Central Agrarian Communities for Females, named after her brother Gualberto, a senator and land reform activist.[6]
In 1924, as women's rights were advancing, Felipe Carrillo Puerto was assassinated. His death led to change in local government, as well as in women's rights. While Felipe Carrillo Puerto had allowed women's rights in Yucatán, he had not been able to have those rights formalized in the constitution of Mexico, and after his death they were rolled back by the subsequent administration of Juan Ricardez Broca. With a new government in power, women were removed from positions in municipal and state government offices, women's suffrage was repealed,[7] and social programs by feminist organizations were no longer supported.[9] Also following Felipe Carillo Puerto's death, Elvia Carrillo Puerto moved to San Luis Potosí, the new center of the women's rights movement.[10] In 1925, she was elected to the national Chamber of Deputies as a representative of San Luis Potosí, but she was not allowed to take the seat, as suffrage and the right to hold elective office were still restricted to men. While local governments had allowed women to vote and hold office, these rights were not recognized nationally in Mexico until 1953.[11]
In 1931 she founded the Women's Action League, which had the mission to fight for the political rights of women. This organization only lasted until 1938.
Later life and death
Elvia fled the Yucatan after suffering two physical attacks. In her later years, she moved to Mexico City and continued to work on women's rights for the rest of her life. Neglected and impoverished, she survived some years by giving music lessons. A car crash in 1941 left her almost blind. Elvia died in Mexico City at the age of 86.[12]
Recognition
On December 6, 2017, Elvia was the subject of a Google Doodle.
References
- ^ "Elvia Carrillo Puerto". www.senado.gob.mx (in Spanish). Retrieved 2018-08-03.
- ^ ISBN 0-8108-4946-1.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-292-70239-4.
- ^ ISBN 0-521-23516-2.
- ^ ISBN 0-313-20309-1.
- ^ ISBN 0-8223-2767-8.
- ^ ISBN 0-393-31066-3.
- ^ ISBN 0-8420-2976-1.
- ISBN 0-8032-8914-6.
- ISBN 0-292-77127-4.
- ^ Exteriores, Secretaría de Relaciones. "63rd anniversary of women's suffrage in Mexico". gob.mx (in Spanish). Retrieved 2023-04-16.
- ^ "The Yucatan Governor Who Empowered Women". www.the yucantanimes.com. Retrieved 2023-11-05.
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