By Matthew Cullinan Hoffman, Latin America Correspondent
MEXICO CITY, March 17, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) – The leader of Mexico's predominant political party has declared herself in favor of “freedom” for abortion, according to local news reports.
Beatriz Paredes Rangel, leader of the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI), said during a conference last week that “I do define myself. I am in favor of women making decisions about their bodies with full freedom.”
Rangel's comments were made at the Electoral Justice with Gender Equality forum held on March 9 in Mexico City, in response from feminists that her position on the issue of abortion was “undefined.”
“Don't tell me that I don't define myself,” quipped Paredes Rangel. “It has been my definition for a long time. I am respectful of these definitions.”
However, Paredes' position differs from many in her own party. Representatives of the PRI, in combination with the more socially conservative National Action Party (PAN) have repeatedly voted in favor of pro-life amendments at the state level during the last two years.
Recognizing her disagreement with many elected officials of the PRI, Rangel added that “I respect the conditions of contradiction in my party, but that is my definition.”
The PRI, which ruled Mexico virtually exclusively from the 1920s until the 1990s, remains the nation's preeminent political party, especially at the state level. It holds 19 of 31 state governorships and state legislatures, which cover 59% of Mexico's population. In the 2009 elections it regained a plurality of seats in the national legislature, and is currently the favorite to win the presidency in 2012.