This article analyzes activism for and against abortion rights in Brazil and Mexico.

What is it about?

How can feminists use their institutional networks to block conservative anti-choice agendas? This question is of paramount importance, given the current context of backlash against gender equity in Latin America and around the world. To answer it, this article conducts a comparative and historically situated analysis of activism for and against abortion rights in Brazil and Mexico (2000–2018). Based on secondary information and in-depth interviews, we argue that the achievements of feminist activism go beyond policy approvals, encompassing a blocking function understood as the capacity to obstruct conservative opposition attacks. Comparison of two diverse cases (Mexico and Brazil) shows that simple “defeat versus success” parameters are not enough to understand the power of feminist networks in resisting conservatives. In order to do so, we need to incorporate an analysis of how feminists stop the advance of conservative agendas.

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