I fought for Mexico’s indigenous women to get political equality

In October 2014, indigenous women in Mexico won a landmark victory in their struggle for political rights.

It came after years of campaigning by Eufrosina Cruz Mendoza, a Zapotec woman who grew up in an indigenous community in Oaxaca, who had been prevented from becoming mayor of her local community.

She believed a system of special laws, which had been in place in Mexico since colonial times, allowed indigenous communities to self-govern with their own traditions, but that left women marginalised and excluded and allowed men to maintain their patriarchal positions.

After Eufrosina challenged those traditions, the Mexican Senate amended the constitution to ensure indigenous women had the right to vote and stand in elections. She speaks to Jacqueline Paine.

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(Photo: Eufrosina Cruz Mendoza. Credit: Pedro Flores Belmonte)