Objective/context:

In 2009, the law of mandatory, simultaneous, and open primaries (PASO, for its acronym in Spanish) was enacted in Argentina. Among others, this regulation seeks to democratize party structures. From a gender perspective, this paper studies the effect of PASO on women’s access to the Chamber of Deputies (2003-2023). To this end, it analyzes how the final lists are assembled, the places assigned to women candidates, the ease with which they gain access to expectable positions, and the permeability of groupings towards their participation since the implementation of PASO.

Methodology:

This is an exploratory and descriptive study of the effect of PASO on the allocation of seats for the category of female deputies in Argentina, considering all female legislators elected in successive elections (2011-2023).

Conclusion:

The findings show that PASO’s objective of democratizing party structures and making their components more representative does not seem to have impacted the country’s existing political and party traditions prior to implementing the law regarding the place given to women in a party.

Originality:

The article presents a study on the democratization effect of PASO on party structures from a gender perspective.