First ladies in Latin America are more than ceremonial figures. They influence public policy, advance political careers, and build power within the core of the executive branch – without a formal mandate, or accountability. Carolina Guerrero Valencia shows why ignoring them means misreading presidential power itself 

An influential actor at the core of executive power 

On 3 January 2026, US forces captured Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro, and are now holding him captive in New York. Maduro's wife Cilia Flores was detained alongside him. Flores faces narco-terrorism charges not merely as an accessory, but as a 'principal with agency'. 

Chile's new president José Antonio Kast assumed office on 11 March. Chile had abolished the role of first lady in 2022, but Kast has announced the reinstatement of the role, albeit without a clear mandate. In so doing, he reopens debate about what the position truly entails. 

In July 2025, the wife of Salvadorian President Nayib Bukele, Gabriela Rodríguez de Bukele, travelled alone to Morocco on an official state visit, where she signed bilateral agreements on early childhood nutrition. And Rosario Murillo, wife of Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega, was in February 2025 designated 'co-president' of Nicaragua alongside her husband. 

These cases are not exceptions. They reveal a structural feature of Latin American presidencies, and a significant gap in democratic accountability. 

Latin American first ladies are often ceremonial figures, embodying empathy, promoting social causes, and giving voice to the vulnerable. Yet their role is neither clearly defined nor formally regulated, but an informal institution at the core of the executive. First ladies influence agendas, coordinate policies, and often act as the president's closest advisers. They may have access to information that never reaches the cabinet.

The role of Latin American first ladies is neither clearly defined nor formally regulated, but an informal institution at the core of the executive

My research with Ignacio Arana Araya on 88 first ladies across 18 Latin American countries between 1990 and 2016 shows that this group does indeed belong to the political elite. They are unelected, yet influential. They operate informally, yet shape policy and public narratives. Of the 88 women we studied, 66 were formally involved in designing, directing, or administering public programmes during their time in government. 

From the presidential palace to the ballot box 

The transition from first lady to candidate is a clear sign of political agency. Between 1999 and 2016, 20 former first ladies ran for office 26 times across the region. They competed for the presidency, vice presidency, and Congress, and were elected 19 times. This phenomenon continues to grow. Currently, Keiko Fujimori leads Peru's presidential race with support ranging between 15% and 18% according to the latest polls. This is not accidental. It shows how these women are building political careers around executive power.

A relevant factor is prior political experience. Our findings show that first ladies who held elected office before entering the presidential palace have around a 70% probability of running for office. Political experience reflects ambition, builds confidence, and provides the skills necessary to compete electorally.

Between 1999 and 2016, 20 former first ladies ran for office across the region. These women are building political careers around executive power

At the same time, the role of a first lady can help a person gain political capital through involvement in public policy and direct political mobilisation. Former Honduran President Xiomara Castro demonstrates how first ladies can build this capital outside formal institutions. After the 2009 coup d'état and the exile of her husband Manuel Zelaya, Castro maintained a visible presence in street protests, strengthening an independent support base. Castro turned that grassroots support into electoral ambition, winning the Honduran presidency in 2021. The first lady’s role is not only symbolic, but can serve as an effective political platform. 

This dynamic extends to the international arena. Since 1987, more than 25 regional summits have brought together Latin American first ladies to coordinate policy agendas and sign cooperation agreements, independently from the presidents they accompany. This is not protocol. It is politics. 

Mediating amplifiers in populist politics 

In populist governments, first ladies also tend to be populists who act as mediators between the president and 'the people'. They translate and amplify political messages. While presidents often embody strength, authority, and confrontation, first ladies tend to convey empathy, morality, and social concern. They humanise leadership, frame policies in culturally resonant ways, and create emotional connections with citizens. 

Our research conceptualises them as mediating amplifiers: actors who operate through emotional mediation, cultural translation, and symbolic amplification. This dynamic is particularly visible in cases such as Gabriela Rodríguez de Bukele in El Salvador and Xiomara Castro in Honduras. Despite their ideological differences, both first ladies helped construct and extend the bond between the leader and the people, making them key actors in contemporary executive politics. This is a structural feature of how populist presidencies sustain themselves. 

A grey zone at the heart of democracy 

The position of first lady raises substantive democratic accountability concerns. It lacks legal definition, has no administrative controls, and is not subject to effective oversight mechanisms. This institutional ambiguity means that the position has been constantly redefined; sometimes toward governance, sometimes toward abuse. In Honduras, Guatemala, El Salvador, Peru, and Venezuela, presidential spouses have been implicated in illicit financing, money laundering, and misuse of public funds.

The institutional ambiguity of a first lady's role means that the position has been constantly redefined; sometimes toward governance, sometimes toward abuse

An unelected actor with access to state resources, agenda-setting capacity, and high media visibility – but without a legal mandate or accountability mechanism – may create a deficit in democratic governance. In stable democracies, this deficit enables patronage and the fusion of public and private interests. In contexts of democratic backsliding, it becomes a tool for power consolidation. 

Studying first ladies matters because these women reveal how presidential systems actually work. Executive power is not exercised exclusively through formal channels. Informal actors within the institutional presidency shape agendas and decisions without official authority. Personalisation, political dynasties, and gender are not peripheral to this story: they are constitutive of how power is built, legitimised, and too often left unaccounted for. As long as we treat first ladies as ceremonial figures with a social role, we will misread the executive and leave a significant accountability deficit in democratic theory unaddressed.