Women marching on International Women’s Day clashed with police at the barricades around the National Palace in Mexico City, where police officers sprayed pepper spray after protesters tried to tear down a metal wall.
Sixty-two policemen and 19 civilians were injured, said Marcela Figueroa, an official at the city’s police station. The Mexico City government “categorically denied” the use of any type of gas against protesters.
President Andrés Manuel López Obrador installed the metal barricade – described as a “wall of peace” by his spokesman – before the protests, saying he wanted to protect government property from vandalism.
But the wall was a provocation for women, who accused the president – famous for traveling with light security through drug cartel-controlled corners of the country – of fearing the feminist movement and ignoring concerns such as rampant sexual violence and a daily newspaper of 10 femicide toll. . At least 939 women were victims of femicide last year in Mexico, official data show.
“Where were you when I was being raped,” a woman was heard screaming in the police in the midst of chaos.
López Obrador has a strained relationship with the feminist movement, which he accuses of being manipulated by conservative opponents and influenced by foreign ideas.
“We want him to protect us the same way he protects these buildings,” said Vânia Palacios, 19, who carried a sign that said: “Fight today so you don’t die tomorrow”.
Protesters wrote the names of the victims of femicide on the barricade after it was installed on Friday and then covered it with flowers. They also designed slogans at the National Palace – a seat of power since Aztec times – which reads: “Mexico feminicide” and “legal abortion now”.
Another slogan brought the allegation “a rapist will not be governor”, a reference to Félix Salgado Macedonio, who is running for office in the south of the state of Guerrero, with the support of López Obrador. Salgado denied having sexually assaulted five women and no charges were brought against him.
The president, who is often called Amlo, has faced criticism from women in his Morena party, who asked him to fire the candidate.
For his part, Salgado was indignant on Monday, when he tweeted his “admiration” for women and praised their struggle.
“This president lied to us,” said Teresa Ramírez, a protester who posted posters of Amlo and Salgado with the slogan: “No vote for Morena”.
“We think he would have answers, but he just made fun of us – especially when it comes to women.”
Women proved to be a thorn for Amlo. He identified himself as a leftist and labeled his opponents conservatives, but he often preached morals and values and leaned toward the conservative on social issues.
He cut funds for daycare centers and women’s shelters and promoted families as a solution to the difficulties of the pandemic, despite the increase in domestic violence.
On Monday, he falsely claimed that the female protests did not take place until he took office.
“We have a saying in Spanish, ‘when you are quiet, you are more beautiful.’ And he seems to agree with that, ”said Maricruz Ocampo, an activist in the city of Querétaro. “We feminists have decided that we are not better off when we are quiet, because when we are quiet, nobody sees us and nobody listens to us.”
Many women expressed hopes for Amlo’s administration, Ocampo said, and he promoted women with feminist sympathies to key positions – along with the appointment of a gender-balanced cabinet. But he did not act on issues such as abortion and its allies at the state level – which includes a party founded by evangelicals – chose not to raise sensitive social issues.
“For many feminists, it looked like a government was coming to take over its agenda,” said Bárbara González, a political analyst in Monterrey. “But not only did Amlo antagonize the movement … he always portrayed it as manipulated and without legitimacy.”
At his daily news conference on Tuesday, Amlo said: “These protests against the government under the banner of feminism … are actually led by conservatives whose interests and privileges are threatened.”
He also accused correspondents for The Guardian, New York Times and El País of being “representatives of companies that participated in the looting in Mexico”.
He offered no evidence to support his claims.