Objective/Context:

The article analyzes ten cases of political violence against women, both elected and candidates for positions in the executive and legislative branches in Mexico and Ecuador, from their connecting link to a hierarchical gender order.

Methodology:

The explanatory case study consists of five cases of political violence against women in Mexico and five in Ecuador. Critical analysis of discourse in a political context is applied to address how certain roles and gender stereotypes sustain this violence and articulate it to a hierarchical order that subordinates women.

Conclusions:

The analysis corroborates that political violence against women is often framed in specific disputes of the political-electoral systems in which it occurs, which can contribute to losing sight of its gender specificity. Despite this and the diverse nature of its manifestations, which determines its visibility, the articulating nucleus is a dichotomous order of gender throughout which women are still represented as subjects incapable of performing effectively in the political sphere.

Originality:

The reconstruction of cases of political violence against women in two countries contributes to a concept of recent discussion, whose relevance continues to be the subject of debate. The article reviews those debates and situates them in the political practice of Latin American women, from where the need to recognize specific and current violence that threatens their rights originated precisely.