How did electoral reform affect women's representation in Mexico?

• A. Women gained seats across all levels without any policy changes.
• B. Women representation significantly decreased after reforms.
• C. Reforms introduced gender quotas and parity requirements for political candidates, increasing women's representation in Congress and local government.
• D. The reforms had no impact on candidate selection or representation.

Answer: (C)

Electoral reforms that set gender quotas and parity on candidate lists directly affect who gets nominated and, therefore, who is likely to be elected. In Mexico, these reforms required parties to include a substantial share of women on their slates and to ensure gender parity in candidacies for Congress and for subnational legislatures. By making women a standard part of the candidate pool, parties were pushed to nominate and promote women more often, which led to a significant rise in women’s representation at both the federal and local levels. Without such requirements, gains in representation tend to be slower and uneven, so these reforms steadily increased women's presence in elected office.