Political Rallies through Gender Lenses: The Case of the 2024 Presidential Campaigns in Mexico

Flores-Márquez, Dorismilda

This paper aims to examine the gender dimension in political rallies in the 2024 presidential campaigns in Mexico, in which the main candidates were two women: Claudia Sheinbaum and Xóchitl Gálvez. Based on hybrid ethnography, we explored the ways in which rallies articulate on-site events, streaming in digital platforms, and media coverage, focusing on Guadalajara, León and Puebla, in Mexico. Gender dimension in the data analysis provides an understanding of politics -and political rallies– as gendered spaces, crossed by inequalities and cultural backgrounds that affect the conditions in which women participate in politics. Particularly, we approach the candidates’ discourses in terms of self representations as women, and gender agenda as well; the audience interactions on site and online; and the presence of gender stereotypes in media coverage.

Preliminary findings show a complex articulation between on-site rallies, live streaming, digital practices of militancy, and media coverage.

The need to show dominance of the territory through political rallies is a legacy of men's political campaigns, which the women candidates and their teams assumed. Although the candidates were women, they exploited their gender status very little. They defined themselves as women and talked about supporting women, but there was no gender perspective in their campaigns. Audience interaction does not show gender biases on site, but it does in live streaming. User interactions ranged from support to attacks, which included mockery of the candidates' bodies and social status. Media coverage, although it mostly reproduced the messages of both candidates, also emphasized gender stereotypes and attacks between them and their parties.

In sum, even when there are advances, women's candidacies do not guarantee that a gender perspective will be incorporated into campaigns. A significant change in generations, political culture, and journalistic work is required.