On 25 November thousands of people took to the streets of Mexico City and other cities across Mexico to protest against gender violence, with at least three people killed during demonstrations.
Analysis:
The protesters condemned not just gender violence, which claims the lives of at least 10 women a day in the country, but also the lack of political will on the part of the government led by President Andrés Manuel López Obrador to address the issue. Although feminist groups supported López Obrador’s presidential candidacy in 2018, the head of state is conservative on social issues, such as abortion and marriage equality, and has taken no action to combat the rising tide of femicides in the country.
- The protest march in Mexico City marked the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women. It finished outside the national palace in the Zócalo square, where there were some clashes with the police. Some hooded protesters also broke various windows and damaged bus stops along the route of the march. The worst violence, however, took place outside the city hall in the municipality of Guaymas, in the north-western state of Sonora.
- A group known as Feministas del Mar was staging a symbolic takeover of the city hall in Guaymas, according to the state attorney general’s office (FGJE), when a group of hitmen armed with assault rifles and grenades arrived on the scene and started firing upon the building.
- A shootout with the bodyguards of the mayor, Karla Córdova, ensued during which three people were killed, and two injured. One of the bodyguards, one of the hitmen and one of the feminist protesters were killed. A photographer working for the city hall was injured along with another one of the feminist protesters.
Looking Ahead: Protests against gender violence and in support of the decriminalisation of abortion will continue to pick up support in Mexico unless the government addresses the demands of protesters. But this is unlikely as López Obrador has publicly denigrated feminists who have criticised his government, accusing them of serving the “conservative opposition”.