La Marea Verde's New Horizons: Victory after a Long-Lived (and Continuing) Struggle for Abortion Rights

By Isabela Angulo

In the last couple of years, a beautiful green wave has run its course through much of Latin America; including Argentina, Colombia, and Mexico. This wave is known as La Marea Verde, or Green Wave in Spanish. It comes in the form of tens of thousands of women and abortion rights activists, all wearing green scarves, bandanas, clothing, and more to stand in solidarity with one another in the fight against the criminalization of abortion. The use of green as the embodiment of the struggle for abortion rights originated from Argentina in 2003. The idea comes from Marta Alanis, the founder of Catholic’s for the Right to Decide. She was inspired by the Madres de Plaza de Mayo, who protested on the streets of Buenos Aires, wearing white bandanas in the 1970s. These women, mostly mothers and grandmothers, aimed to fight against and raise awareness of the disappearances of their children during the “Dirty War.” From its beginnings in 2003, the movement to decriminalize abortion spread throughout Latin America. Women’s rights activists are seen wearing green in Chile, Brazil, Peru, among other countries, all aiming to fight for access to safe and legal abortions within their countries.

This sea of green often clashes against the Pro-Life countermovement, who use the color blue for their cause. Much of the resistance to the abortion rights movement comes from religious conviction and the large populations of practicing people within each country. According to the Pew Research Center “nearly 40% of the world’s Catholic population” is located in Latin America, meaning that a majority of the population of Latin America is Catholic. Additionally, Evangelical and Protestant populations have experienced a significant amount of growth over the past couple of years. No matter the denomination or religious affiliation, these institutions often preach against abortion. Being among the most trusted institutions in their respective countries, their churches hold a lot of influence on the beliefs, actions, and social norms of the general population. An article published by the George Washington University Law School stated that “Latin-America is strongly influenced by their Catholic roots, which is largely reflected in their stricter abortion laws.” Because of these roots, success seemed like a long shot, but La Marea Verde did not give up. Year after year, they continued to rally support and organize demonstrations in favor of legalizing abortion. Even after the defeat of a bill that would decriminalize abortion in Argentina, their hopes were not squandered. Committed to the cause, they fought on. It was two years later that La Marea Verde experienced their first major victory when the government of Argentina legalized abortion. The next year, Mexico’s Supreme Court determined abortion to be a right and then Colombia’s highest court did the same in February of 2022.

Maria Antonieta Alcalde who is the director of Ipas in Central America and Mexico—an organization dedicated to expanding access to abortion with multiple international locations—revealed what she believes are some of the factors to the success of the movement in these areas. In an interview with NPR, she applauded La Marea Verde for their ambitious mobilization of thousands of people, especially the younger generations, throughout Central and South America. She noted the inclusivity of the movement. She stated to her interviewer, “The green movement is a very inclusive movement because you don’t have to be part of a political party, you don’t have to be part of a specific organization, you don’t have to donate. You just have to be out there, to wear your green scarf and to help women to have access to information about safe and legal abortion.” Alicia Yamin, the Senior Fellow for Global Health and Rights at Harvard Law School pointed out that the movement opened up to include LGBTQ+, labor, and other movements as well, allowing them to garner more and more support. La Marea Verde is not isolated to just one country as people across regions have supported and learned from each other. She also pointed out that the legal norms of the countries legalizing abortion differ from those who are not, or those who may be reversing legalization. In countries like Argentina, the fight is more “a matter of equality of gender equality and democratic inclusion and of the right to health.” Some suggest that their success can be partly attributed to the nation becoming more secular as time progresses or simply the end of the stigma that surrounds abortion. While surveys do show that nearly 20% of Argentina’s population report being “practicing Catholics”, Argentina is an outlier in comparison to other Latin American countries. Other research suggests that Catholics in the region are becoming less conservative when it comes to social issues like abortion and same-sex marriage, possibly explaining the shift in societal sentiment concerning these matters. However, this relaxation of traditional beliefs is also a major reason why Catholics are turning to Protestantism, making this line of reasoning unclear. No matter the rationale behind their triumphs, La Marea Verde still has a ways to go. Some countries in Latin America continue to have severe laws restricting the right and access to abortion. Some restrict abortion to extreme cases, like that of rape or medical emergency, and others make it illegal no matter the circumstance. Nonetheless, La Marea Verde will continue to roll in these places. Recently, La Marea Verde has hit the United States, particularly after the overturning of Roe v. Wade. After the U.S’ Supreme Court’s decision, activists took to the streets in protests, many of them wearing green, just like their counterparts in Latin America. Activists from Argentina showed their support by protesting in front of the U.S. Embassy in Buenos Aires days after the ruling, a sign of unity, solidarity, and hope that the United States pro-choice movement is not isolated just to one country.

As a young Latin-American woman myself, I hope to see the continuation of this fight (and plan to participate in it myself). I stand amazed and incredibly proud of La Marea Verde and the persistent work that they do. I hope that the movement here in the United States can learn from their strength, endurance, and unrelenting spirit and continue to ride that powerful green wave into the uphill battle that is to come.