Male-Dominated Nicaragua Now Led by 2 Women
Nicaraguans woke up Monday to find that their male-dominated society is now governed by a pair of women.
Julia Mena was named Sunday as vice president, joining President Violeta Barrios de Chamorro in a female combination unique in the Americas. Mena replaced Virgilio Godoy, who resigned to run for president in elections next year.
“I think women deserve a place in power, not just for being women but because we are normal humans just like men,” Mena told reporters. “If we are a majority [of the population], we deserve a quota of power.”
Nicaragua is as macho as any Latin American country. Sexual assaults against women and girls are rampant; many men think little of cheating on their wives, and many others abandon girlfriends once they become pregnant.
Some Nicaraguans hope Mena’s appointment will start to change this.
“This will help do away with machismo,” maid Paula Benavides said. “It will always exist, but a little less now that there are two women governing.”
Sociologist and political analyst Oscar-Rene Vargas said he would like to see another woman elected president in 1996.
“Men have had a problem with arriving at agreements,” he said. “Fortunately, women don’t have that problem.”
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