Parental Leave and Abortion: Policy Construction and Discursive Translation in the Gender Agenda in Uruguay

Abstract

This article has two purposes. First, it offers a critical analysis of the gender agenda in Uruguay through the analysis of the law of abortion (18.987) and the law on parental leave (19.161). It is assumed that the speeches and ideas are crucial in the formation and transformation of politics. As suchthe article exploresthe discursive construction of both processes as a political and social problem. Second, it will be shown the mechanism through which these demandsbecome policies. It is argued that the likelihood of success depends on two interrelated mechanisms: i) the exiting of the private sphere and the loss of its “controversial” dimension as necessary conditions, but not sufficient to be approved, and ii) a favorable political situation.