Feminism has also reached diplomacy. Gloria de la Fuente (Santiago de Chile, 47 years old), Undersecretary of Foreign Affairs of Chile, is the visible face that in the progressive Government of Gabriel Boric is in charge of feminist foreign policy, an initiative launched by Sweden in 2014 and to which Spain, Mexico, Colombia, Canada, Luxembourg, Germany and France have also joined. The political scientist and academic was recently in Madrid on a 24-hour lightning visit where she met with members of the Spanish Government to continue promoting an egalitarian agenda in international relations. Daughter of a court attorney and a hairdresser, De la Fuente is a firm believer in merit and the fight for equal opportunities. ”Female leadership tends to be more inclusive,” she says in an interview held at the Casa de América in the Spanish capital.
Ask. What is feminist foreign policy?
Answer. It has to do with the commitment of Chile’s foreign policy to democracy and human rights. It is very difficult or impossible to think about democracy in the 21st century without gender equality, which involves more than 50% of the population. International conflicts or climate change affect women and girls unequally, which often involves forced migration. In the Government of President Boric, what we seek is to promote and make visible this feminist agenda to consolidate important advances in recent years.
Q.What would that feminist approach be in two current conflicts like Gaza and Ukraine?
R. We assume that when conflicts of this nature exist and many deaths occur or many people are displaced, it affects men, women and children unequally. Our focus is on the role that women play, not only in how they suffer from international conflicts, but also in the role they play in the search for peace, as established by United Nations resolution 1325. For example, regarding Gaza and the Russian invasion of Ukraine, what we do is direct our international cooperation to humanitarian aid to these vulnerable populations: in the case of international donations we go to institutions such as Unicef and in the case of Gaza to UNRWA.
Q. There have been women in power with very different profiles: Indira Gandhi, Golda Meir, Margaret Thatcher, Michelle Bachelet, Dilma Rousseff, Hillary Clinton or Sanna Marin… Are there common characteristics?
R. In general, female leadership tends to be more inclusive. When Bachelet assumed power, I was just over 20 years old and until that moment it was impossible to think that a woman in Chile could be president of the Republic. The day she won, there were many girls celebrating her victory with a presidential sash. It is a symbol that shows that it is possible for women to reach high levels of power and that, furthermore, both defects and virtues in politics can be distributed equally.
Q. Has she had difficulties in her career because she is a woman?
R. They always ask me who takes care of my daughter or what’s going on with my partner, I don’t see the same question asked of a man. And I clarify that I live motherhood and life as a couple with great dedication and happiness. We are, above all, a team. More than difficulties, I prefer to stay with the challenge; In my current position I feel an enormous responsibility to open doors for other women because I know that the path taken has not been easy for me or for others. In more than 150 years of existence, our ministry of [Exteriores] It has only had two female ministers and three undersecretaries and that in the last quarter of a century.
Q. Do you believe in meritocracy?
R. I believe in merit, but for it to be a reality there is a basic floor to develop a life project. Mine has been a story of effort, but I saw in my school and in my life many talents wasted due to lack of material conditions, educational resources or socio-emotional resources. Merit is possible where the conditions for developing talents are the same for everyone.
Q. Are more demanded of female politicians?
R. The fact that there are women in politics or in different spaces of representation in society does nothing more or less than level the playing field. I say this because there is a tendency to ask women in politics or in power to have a kind of extraordinary quality above men. The demand for excellence should also be the same for both and not only for them. Both virtue and non-virtue are distributed equally. Demanding more qualities from women than from men seems wrong to me. Excellence is required, regardless of a person’s gender or orientation, particularly in public service.
Q. Feminist foreign policy is an idea born in Europe, how is it applied in a subcontinent as unequal as Latin America?
R. The concept of the Global South is much discussed and that is fine. But we must be aware that women face greater conditions of inequality and other glass ceilings in Latin America. Many women are in charge of sick people and children, and that poses limitations for their development projects. In welfare societies, where there is greater support from the State, this tends to be mitigated.
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