Is a post-gendered nation possible? Some Remarks on Nation and Gender from the Latin American Independence Experience

In the 19th Century, the processes of Nation-Building within Latin American countries were characterized by the longing for the nation-model already existing in European nations and by the performance of those major figures fighting for independence (the so-called caudillos). This scenario has characterized Latin American political geography for more than a century. Nowadays, the current heads of Latin American left-wing governments seem to anachronically perform a caudillo’s roll. However, this time, the independence claims are driven by a post-colonial, post-neoliberal discourse, which has also been addressed as 21st Century Socialism. What is more, there have been new terminologies developed for addressing the political changes within the nation in relation to citizenship, belonging and ethnicity. But, does this change in the conception of the nation also alter the conception of the nation itself? What gender does the new conception of the nation in Latin America entail? And is it possible to conceive a post-gendered or even post-hegemonic nation? In order to give some possible answers to these questions my paper will involve first, a short historical reconstruction of Latin American nation-state building process. I will focus on the gendered conceptions of patria and its aesthetical dimension. This critical historical reconstruction will be followed by the current political changes, which may or may not alter the conception of the nation and the conception of gender within the nation. Keywords: post-modern Latin America, The political-body of the Nation, Socialism of the 21st Century.