The Rights and the Civil Status of Women in the Southern Cone (1945-1990)

This article offers a comparative analysis of the historical influence of the rights in the building of women's civil statute in Argentina, Brazil, Chile and Uruguay during the period 1945-1990. In the four countries, democratic governments with variable influence of the rights (Uruguay and Brazil) and, significantly, military institutional dictatorships headed by right-wing groups (Argentina and Chile) carried out an important reform of women's civil juridical statute. In fact, at different times, such governments legislated on a primary element of civil rights: the "full capacity". In different ways, under a democratic regime or under a dictatorship, in all countries, the inclusion of women in the statute of civil person with full capacity was restricted by right wing forces.