ON LOVE AND LIFE: UNDERSTANDING POLICY OUTCOMES OF MARRIAGE EQUALITY AND ABORTION LEGALIZATION IN ARGENTINA

Abstract

Since democratization in 1983, Argentina has expanded political, civil, and social rights. This effort to expand certain rights, especially those which challenge traditional gender and sexual norms, however, has varied dramatically. What explains the different outcome of these policies that challenge the status quo? Why did Argentina legalize marriage equality in 2010, making it the tenth country in the world and the first in Latin America to have marriage equality? On the other hand, why did abortion legalization get debated in the Chamber of Deputies for the first time in 2018? How did the abortion legalization project make it through the Chamber of Deputies but fail to get a majority of votes in the Senate? This thesis studies the experiences of Argentina since democratization to understand this uneven pattern. Through a comparative analysis, I contend that strong social movements were a necessary condition for marriage equality and abortion legalization to be brought to the public agenda. However, I argue that it does not sufficiently explain each policy’s outcome. First, a strong state actor– social movement coalition explains whether the policy is debated before the Chamber of Deputies. Second, a strong state actor–social movement coalition and the relative strength of the counter-movement sufficiently explain why marriage equality passed, while abortion legalization ultimately failed.