The arrival of sexual and reproductive rights on the public agenda marked a new moment in the dynamics between law and society in Latin America. But despite important regional and international advances in guaranteeing sexual and reproductive rights in recent years, these often provoke tensions between those who favor their recognition and those who oppose them. In the discrepancy of this issue of Inserts, we hope to clarify some of the main points of the debate around this topic so fundamental for the life and health of women, and for social equality in Latin America.

WOn October 12, 1492, the ships chartered by the Crown of Castile under the command of Admiral Christopher Columbus touched down in what would later be known as America. This date is so charged with symbolism that it is part of the civic calendars of almost all the countries of the subcontinent, referring to the relationship between the "mother country" and the republics, their "daughters" despite the sacred independence. We take this date to ask three social scientists how the always conflictive relationship of the Latin American republics with their colonial origins, with the original populations and with the Creole legacy in their formation as nations occurs in their respective countries.