The threat to Mexico’s machismo culture

As the nation's first major female presidential candidate, Vazquez Mota is challenging a slowly changing boy's club

By Nathaniel Parish Flannery, GlobalPost

Josefina Vasquez Mota (Credit: AP Photo/Alexandre Meneghini)

MEXICO CITY — At El Mirador, a cantina frequented by Mexico’s political and economic elite, you can see a fine selection of spirits and a menu that features dishes like pickled pigs’ feet and beef tongue tacos.

Global PostBut what you won’t see are women.

El Mirador, a relic from the country’s machista past, politely refuses to serve them. The bathroom has only a urinal and a sink.

So it may have come as a surprise to some when Mexico’s PAN party decided to nominate Josefina Vazquez Mota, a woman, for president – the first time a woman has ever been nominated by a major Mexican party.

Accepting her nomination, Vazquez Mota, a longtime government official, said, “I will be the first woman president of Mexico in history.”

(More here.)