Advances and Setbacks in South America: Gender Disputes in Argentina, Brazil, and Colombia

This paper draws on an interdisciplinary dialogue between Political Science and Feminist Theories to understand gender backlash as one of the pillars of the contemporary democratic crisis (Fraser, 2024). The research seeks to map, document, and analyse manifestations of this backlash in three countries—Argentina, Brazil, and Colombia—between 2016 and 2025, a period marked by key events such as the impeachment of Dilma Rousseff, the rejection of the peace accords in Colombia, and the rise of far-right governments in Brazil and Argentina. To examine how this backlash takes shape, the study analyses the deinstitutionalisation of public policies and the conflicts within the Legislative and Judicial branches regarding access to abortion in these three countries, understanding this issue as a prototypical case for analysing attacks on the field of gender and diversity. The methodology combines documentary research on the official websites of national congresses, judicial bodies, and ministries of health in each country—identifying bills (Legislative), regulations and ordinances (Executive), and judicial actions and rulings (Judiciary) related to abortion access—together with a narrative analysis of major news outlets in order to identify the conflicts embedded in the episodes reported. The conclusion of the research points to “gender” in general, and abortion in particular, as elements that function as a moral glue for the far-right in all three countries.