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Florinda Lazos León

Florida Lazos León (1898-?) was a Mexican revolutionary.

Florinda Lazos was a combatant in the Mexican Revolution. Some of her jobs included working as a nurse and as a congresswoman. She was also one of the organizers of the Congress of Working-Class and Peasant Women celebrated in Chiapas in 1919. Lazos León represents many revolutionary women that contributed to advancing gender equality in Mexico and education in Chiapas, and has been considered one of the most popular public figures of this region.

Biography

Florinda Lazos León was born in San Cristobal de las Casas, Chiapas (Mexico) in 1898. She was the daughter of Abel Lazos and Sofía de León.

In 1991 Florinda Lazos León accompanied her uncle, the engineer Manuel Lazos, and the other members of a committee in Chiapas when they met with Francisco León de la Barra in San Juan Bautista. That same year, a group of feminists from Mexico City demanded their right to vote to the acting president, Francisco.

At the beginning of the 20th century, there was already a feminism precursor association in Mexico that fought for women's equality, the so-called Mexican Society for the Protection of Women, chaired by María Sandoval de Zarco.

She joined the Anti-Reelectionist Center of Mexico under the presidency of Antonio Herrejón López.

Mexican Revolution

Adelitas or soldaderas

Florinda Lazos León participated actively in the Mexican Revolution.

During the Mexican Revolution or armed stage of the revolution, women stood out in the battefield together with soldiers. These revolutionaries were in charge of the provisioning of medicines, ammunition, clothes, food, etc.

Lazos León, during the huertista usurpation, became a postwoman in the zapatistas forces from the division of the general Ángel Barrios. She was also a nurse from the Mexican Liberating Southern Army, with the colonel Prudencio Casal. She stood out because of her implication and moral strenght. Every woman that joined the Mexican Revolution was known as an "adelita or soldadera", and they defended their homeland and freedom as one of the first feminist movements.

In 1917 she took part in a women's committee which early that year interceded to pacify the Mexican anticarrancistas rebels of Tiburcio Fernández Ruíz, who were fighting the Government. She did not only intervene in Chiapas, but also in the national inland battlefields.

Lazos León was the one to deliver the news of Emiliano Zapata's assassination.

Women's suffrage

Florinda Lazos León contributed to the process of political and cultural emancipation of Mexican women.

After the Constitution of 1917, Vetustiano Carranza (President of the Republic) made men and women equal at home. He also stablished that they'd have equal authority and considerations. Along with these initiatives, and in order to achieve women's economical, social and political emancipation, Florinda Lazos León worked side by side with Elvia Carrillo Puerto in the organisation of the First Congress of Working-Class and Peasant Women, fighting for equal opportunities for men and women. Among their revindications we can find: equal pay for equal work, the process of dignifying prostitutes, equal morality for both sexes, the foundation of nurseries, dormitories and dining rooms for workers and their children, as well as the right to vote and be voted for elected office.

This congress was celebrated in 1920, in Mérida (Yucatan). It was there where political rights for these segments of society were demanded, as well as lands and tools for rural tasks. Elena Torres was the General Secretary of this congress, and the general committee was formed by Evelina Roy, María del Refugio García, María Teresa Sánchez and Stella Carrasco. They had, in turn, La Mujer (The Woman), published every two weeks and run by Julia Nava Ruisánchez. This magazine acted as a way of expressing their revindications.

In the debates of this Congress, the Mexican Women Confederation stated their views on these terms:

"Feminism is based on pro-woman work, no matter if they are rich, poor, intelligent or unprepared, etc. Feminist women don't think of a man as their enemy, but as their partner, and both must act at the same level, with the same rights and obligations. Feminism works for elevating women's position. The feminism tribune has a wide scope, including both private and public places, but feminism acquires more personality in feminist trade unions, as most of their members are women. However, this is not the case for trade unions made for men and women, because as they are composed by a greater number of men, they normally enforce their wills. This is natural human action, not censorship; it's only about women studying and solving their problems in groups of people where they are understood and appreciated" (Hernández, 1992).

In 1924-1924 the Governor of Yucatan, Felipe Carrillo Puerto, acknowledged the women's right to participate in the local and state elections. Thanks to that, Elvia Carrillo was the first elected candidate to the Congress of Yucatan. She was engaged in her ocupation for two years. However, she had to resign from her job, because she was being threatened to death.

In Mexico, women's suffrage was legistated in 1953, and women could vote for the first time in 1955. Chiapas was a pioneering territory because this right was acknowledged in 1925, almost thirty years before. The eleventh of May 1925, while César Córdova was still the provisional Governor of Chiapas, women from Chiapas could be part of the Chamber of Deputies in the Local Congress thanks to the eight decree and in the third term.

Florinda Lazos León was wounded by several fernandistas when she promoted women's right to vote. Two years later, she became a congresswoman in The Local Congress of Chiapas, by making an alliance with the Southeastern socialists. Until 1955 there were only two local congresswomen. Even though changes in the revolutionary model of Carranza and Obregón were recorded, women were scarce in the public office until 1955.

In 1926, Mr. Facundo López pointed out that for the first time women had acquired political rights and that a woman had sat on a curul (a seat occupied by a congressman in the Parliament) as a representative of the district of Tuxtla Gutiérrez. This woman was Florinda Lazos León.

During this period she also worked as a journalist. In San Cristóbal de las Casas, she even run the ten-year magazine La Gleba, with the aim of achieving gender equity, so that women could stand out not by being better than men or over them, but in equal terms.

Mexican National Congress of Working-Class and Peasant Women

The 4th Mexican National Congress of Working-Class and Peasant Women was held in 1931. Florinda Lazos León, head of the Consultative Body of the Committee and delegate of the state of Aguascalientes tried to make history in the 1st National Congress of Working-Class and Peasant Women. She requested the Secretariat for Agriculture to approve the Farm Schools for Women project. As it is done in primary schools, the aim of farm schools was to teach the most important subjects to these women, so that they would be prepared to work in jobs in the field of industry or science. This wasn't done for them to progress, just for them to live. At that congress, the lawyer Florinda Lazos pronounced the following statements:

"A woman who has personality can pave her way wherever she wants, although she has no economic resources."

"Every citizen can respectfully request that any article included in our laws is modified, added or subtracted —provided that this request is in accordance with the Constitution." (Ríos, 1931).

During the days the Congress was held a series of incidents occurred, including the one in which Lazos León was involved. She alluded to a group of delegates related to communist theories and said that they had only been obstructing the work of the Congress. The communists were also described as "malinches catechised by the Russians".

The differences between these two currents of thought also became evident when discussing the confirmation of autonomous women's political groups, such as the Mexican Feminine Confederation proposed by perristas like Elvira Carrillopuerto, María Ríos Cárdenas and Florinda Lazos León. They brought up the following:

"Only women know their own problems and, therefore, they are the ones who can solve them! Even if it has achieved many rights for workers, trade unionism doesn't solve the problems that affect women. We need associations made by and for us."

As many others, Florinda Lazos León considered that women were the only ones who could fight for their rights and solve their own problems. The communists —among which Cuca García, Consuelo Uranga and Concha Michel stood out— considered that the struggle of women could not be separated from that of men. Comunists described perristas as "bourgeois and in favour of large employers". One of the sessions ended with the arrest of the communists. They were accused of being subversive and of having demonstrated against the Government.

Mexican National Bloc of Revolutionary Women

In 1934, Lazos León led the Mexican National Bloc of Revolutionary Women, which had been created in 1921. One year later (1935) the Mexican Front for Women's Rights was created. It was promoted by the Mexican Communist Party as well as by other powers. It had as many as 60,000 members. This movement fought for women's suffrage, for their education, for hospitals, etc. They also encouraged women to get involved in politics. Among the leaders of the Mexican National Bloc, the most important ones were Consuelo Uranga, Frida Kahlo, Adelina Zendejas Gómez and María del Refugio García.

Inspiration

Florinda Lazos León fought for women's rights and their access to public offices. This is a current matter of concern in Chiapas. They seek to increase the number of municipal presidents, since there are 122 municipalities and only 32 are governed by women. Just like it happened more than 90 years ago, nowadays there is a large number of poor and indigenous women in Chiapas who face discrimination and lack access to justice when trying to enter the public domain.