The Rhetorical Discourse of “Horizontal” Gender Parity for the Nomination of Governor Candidates in Mexico: An Analysis of an Iconic Sentence

Due to its normative structure the notion of “gender parity” becomes an ambiguous indeterminate legal concept. Since gender parity is conceived both as a principle and as a rule, as a public policy and as a directive, it is difficult to outline its legal consequences. During the last Mexican electoral process (2020-2021) the Superior Chamber of the Electoral Tribunal analyzed the notion of “horizontal” gender parity and its implications for the nomination of governor candidates. In a controversial ruling, the Superior Chamber resolved that a constitutional interpretation of the principle of “horizontal” gender parity imposes on all political parties an obligation to nominate their governor candidates on the basis of an equal number of male and female candidates (7/8). This text performs an argumentative analysis of that iconic decision.