Sandra Cuevas while taking a group photo, an image shared on her social networks.
Coverage of the political activity of Sandra Cuevas, the first mayor elected in Cuauhtémoc and now running for head of government of Mexico City, has focused on the controversies that have led to measures such as Operation Diamond or the closure of sports Guelatao Center. But almost at the same level, the gaze of the electorate, social networks and local media is focused on the way she dresses, the shoes she chooses and, above all, the high cost of her clothes.
However, the almost undeniable matter-of-factness with which his stylistic choices have been covered and the origins of his clothes discussed as government matters should not stop us from asking ourselves some uncomfortable questions: whether we want to take a close look at the very high cost of their clothes – a recent report talks about spending more than 700,000 Mexican pesos on clothing – shouldn’t we do the same for all candidates? Or does excessive luxury only seem to bother us when it is displayed by a woman of power? She wears pink Versace suits, but does anyone check the watches, cars, European brand suits and luxury wallets of the other candidates who, like her, are also current mayors?
It’s nothing new for women in positions of power to have their bodies, their age, their style, their clothes exposed to public scrutiny. In the political context of Washington, in the United States, for example, the Washington Post’s science and fashion editor Robin Givhan has found that one of the most common assumptions among women who are particularly stylish and hold positions of power is “that his style means that a large part of his time, intelligence and money is invested in the creation of this image. Another big assumption is that his style distracts greatly from his message.” For this reason, she points out, “women politicians often struggle with their own image.”
The problem, Givhan adds in an interview published in Vestoj’s book Conversations of Power, is that these ideas, which raise doubts about the suitability of these women for politics based on their appearance, do not matter if that, what they do happens to their image is the exact opposite and they don’t pay attention to it. “If a senator appears on a television show with no make-up or unkempt hair, it is as much or more of a distraction than if she appears completely dressed in Dolce & Gabbana,” the scientist concludes.
Sandra Cuevas in a park in Mexico City.
Researcher Nelly Lara from the Gender Studies Center of the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) notes that these negative signals work through female politicians who wear designer clothes and appear to have a certain amount of power, not only personally but also economically in deeply rooted beliefs of a society that associates power almost exclusively with the masculine.
“When women come to power, which develops within a patriarchal society, it is common for them to go through a process that feminist studies call “transvestism.” That is, women literally become a camouflage with the protagonists of power. “It is very common that they then start to change their clothes, tend to wear tailored pants and dark colors and, above all, cut their hair, as if to emulate the male subject,” explains Lara, the well-known Examples like Hillary Clinton gives. , Christine Lagarde, Michelle Bachelet or Angela Merkel.
So when we see Mayor Sandra Cuevas carrying out her operations at five in the morning in very high stilettos and redesigned dresses with a small waist through the streets of the mayor’s office she manages, it seems as if her image is a challenge in extending her mandate represented about the way women should be seen exercising power. “Feminism suggests that women do not have to exercise their power in the same way as men. Hacking these instances raises the question of whether there are other aesthetic and governance options for us. Seeing a female subject who does not renounce her femininity through the exercise of power is in itself a revolutionary act,” explains Lara.
Sandra Cuevas during one of her assignments at the Cuauhtémoc mayor’s office on July 17.
Another reason that the scholar finds for so many headlines being devoted to the clothes of Ferragamo and Carolina Herrera de Cuevas is related to another element known from the studies of feminist political economy: the feminization of poverty.
“The patriarchal structure builds and wants poor women. Traditionally, women are denied access to economic resources and do not have the power to decide what we do with those resources. So getting used to the poverty of women means that when one of them shows that she has bought something luxurious, the people around her look at her strangely, because the norm from the gender condition says that this woman has neither power nor money has. In addition, the fact that Sandra Cuevas says with her clothes: “I earn my money and spend it on myself” is something that does not please the society in which we live, which does not want women in us invest ourselves because we always do one topic for the other. If you have money as a woman, that money has to be for your children, your parents, your family, but if you show that you are investing those resources in yourself, the patriarchy will charge you for it.”
From the point of view of political communication expert, image consultant and campaign manager Francisco Vergara Martínez, Sandra Cuevas’ preferences are not in the least surprising, because for him the image of the politician as a candidate is one thing and a completely different How is the ruler? And Sandra Cuevas is already a ruler, although she recently re-registered as a candidate in her race for Mexico City. “First, candidates want to look like their electorate, so they wear clothes without logos, shirts that are not flashy, neutral colors, but everything changes when they are rulers.” There is a reason for this: Mexico still has one very clear vision of what someone in power should look like. How it is viewed influences the legitimacy of this exercise of power. Voters think: “If you dress like that, you have power and then you will help us.” “Those who already wield power want to distinguish themselves, to mark this vertical structure.”
Sandra Cuevas in an image from her social networks on August 6, 2023.
However, the adviser emphasizes that the logic works differently between men and women in politics, because while they are canonically expected to look like men with power, politicians are more expected to “look normal and not stand out.” Elements of his style. “The man’s clothing is very simple, it doesn’t attract attention. This neutrality makes tracking difficult. Perhaps only someone at the same economic level can see the signs of luxury behind a suit. So I would say that when it comes to men’s clothing, it seems easier for luxury to go unnoticed and less easy to monitor any hint of excess. It is very difficult to trace the origins of a politician’s white shirt and dark suit. It’s completely different for women because designer clothes and their value are immediately recognized through fashion portals and advertising.”
Feminist political economy studies cited by UNAM professor Nelly Lara have attempted to clarify who spends more, men or women, and despite the stigma usually placed on women as spenders, the analyzes concluded that They, although due to the gender mandate, spend more money. They spend more money on more expensive things. “If we compare these female politicians with men who hold the same position of power, the trend shows us that they spend less on things, but buy watches, cars and property that are significantly more expensive,” he concludes.
The big question we should ask, according to analyst Vergara Martínez, is whether they are using public money for these things. “The truth is that the expenses of the lifestyle that rulers lead are costly and are not usually part of their lifestyle before they occupy their positions of power. There are many ways to justify this luxury with the free spending of politicians, but I want to assure that this is not a vice of this or that policy, but a general modus operandi of politics in Mexico.”
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