The Politics of Access and Inclusion

Sor Juana was denied formal university education solely because of her gender—a structural injustice that prevented her voice from being counted in intellectual institutions. This exclusion is itself a form of corruption: the abuse of institutional gatekeeping to maintain unaccountable power structures. Anti-corruption requires examining who is admitted to institutions, whose expertise is valued, whose concerns are addressed, and whose needs are ignored. When institutions restrict participation to narrow groups, accountability fails. Diverse, inclusive institutions are harder to corrupt because many perspectives create checks and balances; homogeneous institutions concentrate power unchecked. Fighting corruption means actively expanding access—ensuring that education, employment, and institutional participation are genuinely available; listening to voices from marginalized communities who often witness corruption firsthand; and recognizing that corruption often targets those least able to fight back. Sor Juana's demand for the right to learn and participate was fundamentally an anti-corruption stance, challenging the corruption of exclusion.