Paulina Luisi

Considered the “mother” of Latin American feminism, Paulina Luisi (1875-1950) is well known for her efforts to build a more inclusive international feminism after the First World War. Less well known, is the role that domestic and international law played in this project. Very early in her activism, Luisi identified knowledge acquired through lived experience as indispensable for good government and consequently advocated for greater representation of women, social workers, and marginalized peoples, in the making of domestic and international law. To this end, she constructed a transatlantic network of activists and amplified its voice as an expert at the League of Nations, while, simultaneously, she criticized international organizations that blocked reform and provided cover for authoritarianism, attributes she associated with Pan-American organizations. During the 1930s, Luisi’s dissatisfaction with Pan-Americanism led her to emphasize the need for a constant transnational grassroots mobilization.