Networks, Trust Circles, and Women’s Turnout: Evidence from Colombia
- Programa:
- Sesión 1, Sesión 1
Día: miércoles, 9 de septiembre de 2026
Hora: 09:30 a 11:15
Lugar: 16B
Can interpersonal networks overcome political apathy to mobilize identity groups? New movement parties or candidates can leverage civic networks and interpersonal trust to reach disengaged constituencies, credibly signal their commitment to representing their interests, and successfully mobilize them to vote. We test the empirical viability of this theory by investigating Estamos Listas, an all-women electoral movement that emerged in Medellín, Colombia, amid widespread disillusionment following the 2016 peace referendum. Leveraging Colombia's gender-segregated voting system, we employ a difference-in-differences design using voting booth-level electoral data from 2011 to 2019 to estimate the movement's effect on municipal election turnout. We find that Estamos Listas significantly increased women's electoral participation relative to men, with such turnout gains strongly correlated with the movement's vote shares. Elite interviews with the movement's founders revealed that it grew through the reproduction of so-called circles of trust, in which each new member brought several friends and strategic contacts to continue expanding the network. In line with this, the movement received greater support in areas with a higher concentration of women-related civic associations and party observers on the election day. Survey evidence shows corresponding increases in women's civic engagement and reductions in gender prejudice, highlighting the role of social capital and group consciousness in the movement's success. In uncovering how interpersonal trust and network-based electoral movements may overcome participation barriers in contexts of institutional distrust, when tapping into group consciousness. In uncovering the local potential of these movements, this paper also describes the challenges they face when attempting to escalate.
Palabras clave: political behavior, identity, gender, turnout