Presentation and debate of the research study The representation of women in four national parliaments. The cases of Mexico, Chile, Argentina and Uruguay. Presentation chaired by Antonia Martínez, Lecturer at the University of Murcia and Director of the Mexico Study Centre at the Ortega y Gasset Foundation.

The questioning of the principle of equality in the dispute over the inherent power of the pluralism and ethnocultural neutrality of the Liberal State, the development of feminist studies and the importance of multiculturalist approaches, with their arguments in favour of recognising collective rights for social groups with specific characteristics, all mean that this issue has become a central theme in debates on the quality of political representation. The construction of representation has traditionally been carried out through political parties, by seeking to transfer citizens' beliefs and preferences into the representative organs, to a greater or lesser extent.

Now it is being argued that there is a need to construct representation by also considering the symbolic dimension: what we could call the dimension of empathy in the sense of putting ourselves in other people's place and being able to better identify their ideas in relation to certain issues. And finally, to ensure the effective defence of the interests of the most disadvantaged groups, as well as the presence of all the segments existing in society. Within the framework of this area of reflection, this research study represents an attempt to examine the impact of the existence of quota laws in the legislative composition and, particularly, legislative production in two national cases: Mexico and Argentina. Finally, the study aims to compare the results with two other countries that have no legislation for increasing the presence of women in the parliamentary arena: Chile and Uruguay.