Political and Economic Participation of Women in Latin America

Speaker: Claudia Lopez (MPA '03), Mayor of Bogota

Claudia López started her mandate on the 1st of January 2020 for a four-year term, she was elected with more than 1,1108,000 votes, the highest total count of any mayor in the city’s history. She became the city's first female and also the first lesbian Mayor in Bogotá’s history. She has an emphatic focus on the environmental, social equity and anticorruption agendas.

López was the vice-presidential candidate in the 2018 presidential election for the Green Alliance Party, and Senator of the Republic of Colombia between 2014 and 2018, from there she promoted important laws such as the Bicycle Law, she ensured the fair premium for domestic employees, she helped provide a guarantee of resources for "From Zero to Always," an early childhood policy by the state, and facilitated GDEs for many students without having to enlist in the military first.

The public recognizes her tenacity and enormous capacity for collective action, which was reflected in the fight against corruption by leading a citizen consultancy, a participatory instrument where she received 11,671,420 nation-wide votes, the most votes that any initiative has received in Colombia’s entire history. Before entering her political career, Lopez was an accomplished researcher and scholar. 

Lopez is a finance and international relations graduate from Universidad Externado de Colombia, holds a Master’s degree in Public Administration and Urban Politics from Columbia University School of International and Public Affairs and a Ph.D. in Political Science from Northwestern University.

Commentators:
Yasmine Ergas, Director of Gender and Public Policy specialization 
Jenny McGill, Co-Director of Economic and Political Development concentration
Jose Antonio Ocampo, Co-Director of Economic and Political Development concentration

Moderated by:
Maria Victoria Murillo, Director of the Institute of Latin American Studies
 

Economic and Political Development Concentration | Website | View More Events
Co-hosted with: Latin American Student Association, Urban and Social Policy Concentration, Gender and Public Policy Specialization

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