However, the story of how gender equality became a nationwide priority and how quotas were progressively enforced belongs to a more complex framework. It tells how political parties played a primary role and Mexican women’s leadership and ability to build cross-party alliances functioned as a catalyst for change, sparking fruitful debate within and between parties, in the national legislature and public opinion. While women in the parties were the driving force - with some senior officials and powerful figures using their influence to muster support inside and outside the party - they could not have pushed quotas through without the support of their parties.