Suffrage is usually used as a synonym for voting.
Suffrage is the manifestation that can be made public or kept secret related to an election that each subject develops in private . The notion, originating from the Latin word suffragĭum , is used as a synonym for vote and describes the means, gesture or object that makes the dissemination of such preference possible.
It should be noted that this word is associated with the electoral system that governs when different public positions must be assigned and occupied. Suffrage constitutes a constitutional and political right that includes the so-called active type of suffrage (which revolves around the right of every individual to participate with their vote in the election of rulers or the approval or rejection of a referendum) and the passive suffrage (based on the right to run as a candidate during the electoral process and to be elected).
Suffrage throughout history
Throughout history , the right to vote has undergone multiple transformations. The feudal lords and kings of ancient times did not consider their subjects free men and, therefore, did not allow them to express themselves through voting.
In democratic governments, however, suffrage is limited by certain legal conditions . According to each country, the subject must be of legal age, have the nationality of the country where they intend to vote or present themselves as a representative or meet other requirements. In some Muslim nations, for example, women still do not enjoy the right to vote.
Universal suffrage is the right recognized to the entire adult population of a State to vote.
The female vote
In this sense, it should be noted that there is also what is known as women's suffrage . This can be defined as an international reformist movement at various levels (political, economic and social), carried out at various times in history, whose clear objective was to achieve and extend the right to vote for women.
In the case of Spain , for example, the first time this type of suffrage was recognized was in 1924 . Date on which the right of women who served as heads of families to be not only voters but also eligible was established. However, the vote for women would not be achieved as such until 1931, with 1933 being the moment in which the female gender was able to vote at the polls for the first time.
It is important to highlight in this sense the role played by a series of women who fought to achieve women's suffrage in that country. Among them is the politician Clara Campoamor who, among other things, participated in the constitutional commission that was in charge of preparing the Magna Carta of the Second Republic.
In the case of Latin America, it is important to recognize that the first nation to approve the aforementioned women's suffrage was Uruguay , specifically it did so in 1927 . Meanwhile, other countries took a little longer to accept it, such as Mexico, which did not implement it until 1953 .
universal suffrage
Universal suffrage , meanwhile, is the right that allows the entire adult population of the State to vote, regardless of their sex, race, social condition or beliefs.
It is about the evolution of a series of systems, such as census suffrage (where only men with a certain level of education and income voted) or qualified suffrage (enabled for men who knew how to read and write).