Transnational Perspectives: Women and Cold War in Guatemala, Costa Rica and Chile (1945-1973)

Eugenia Rodríguez Sáenz, Ph.D., Universidad de Costa Rica

Abstract: The paper analyzes what was the impact that the Cold War had on women’s political mobilization and identities in Guatemala, Costa Rica and Chile, during 1945-1973. This period has been less studied than the period of 1970-1999, because the research has focused on women’s mobilization in the revolutionary and “guerrilla” movements in Guatemala, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Chiapas and Cuba. 

In this sense, this paper will try to answer the following questions: 

1- Why and how Guatemalan, Costa Rican and Chilean women politically mobilized during the Cold War and to what extend they contributed to democratize politics?

2- To what extend Guatemalan, Costa Rican and Chilean women’s political mobilization during the Cold War transformed their organizational strategies and construction of citizenship?

3- What were the differences and similarities in the process of Guatemalan, Costa Rican and Chilean women’s political mobilization during the Cold War and other women from Latin America, North America and Europe?

4- To what extend Guatemalan, Costa Rican and Chilean women developed transnational connections during the Cold War with other women from Latin America, North America and Europe?