Class, gender and Political representation, in St-Laurent du Maroni (French Guiana) from 1949 to 1983. This paper deals with the evolution of political representation in Saint-Laurent du Maroni from 1949 to 1983. Owing to colonial hierarchies, the political sphere was first dominated and shaped by members of the Creole community. The Creole colonial elites did not, however, retain political power. Education levels, administrative skills and affiliation with political parties competed with the traditional resources of the Creole financial upper class, thus enabling members of the middle class to be elected. This renewal of political representatives profoundly changed the place of women in local political institutions. Indeed, whereas in the days of "notables", Creole women had campaigned in houses, in the private sphere and through their Catholic network, from the 1970s they began to appear in the public sphere and accede to political office.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.