Throughout Mexico's history, women have endured systemic oppression. Beginning in colonial Mexico, gender hierarchies formed. The establishment of hierarchies, the patriarchy, and lack of independence forced women into submissive roles. After the first and second waves of feminism, dynamics between men and women changed, granting women more independence. As they gained freedom, violence escalated and by the 1980s a pattern of violence emerged. In 1993, the documentation of femicide began and rates continued to increase with little legal protection offered. The rise of social media and continued the discussion of the issue and brought to light all levels of violence.Though legislation was passed to protect women, it was not enough. Women continue to fight for their safety and bring awareness to the issue.

This essay uses census data from the eighteenth century to examine the leadership role of caciques in the Guaraní missions. Cacique succession between 1735 and 1759 confirms that the position of cacique transitioned from the Guaraníes’ flexible interpretation of hereditary succession to the Jesuits’ rigid idea of primogenitor (father to eldest son) succession. This essay argues that scholars overstate the caciques’ leadership role in the Guaraní missions. Adherence to primogenitor succession did not take into account a candidate's leadership qualities, and thus, some caciques functioned as placeholders for organizing the mission population and calculating tribute and not as active leaders. An assortment of other Guaraní leadership positions compensated for this weakness by providing both access to leadership roles for non-caciques who possessed leadership qualities but not the proper bloodline and additional leadership opportunities for more capable caciques. By taking into account leadership qualities and not just descent, these positions provided flexibility and reflected continuity with pre-contact Guaraní ideas about leadership.