Mexicans Take to Streets in Historic March Against Femicide

(Bloomberg) -- Thousands of Mexicans took to the streets in the capital and other cities chanting “not one more murder!” on Sunday, International Women’s Day, to protest a spate of killings of women and rising gender violence.

“I’m in my 60s and this movement moves me and convinces me, that’s why I am marching today,” said Yolanda Leyva, against the racket of a patrolling helicopter and the shouts of protesters gathered in Mexico City. “The majority of women feel they can relate to it, independent from their political, economic or cultural backgrounds.”

Demonstrators cheered as they spray-painted buildings and threw red dye in fountains in Mexico City. They held signs that read, “in Mexico I am destined to be my own superhero to survive” and “you wish you had a vagina.” The event was plastered on the front covers of national newspapers on Sunday.

Observers expect the international women’s day march to be one of the biggest feminist demonstrations in Mexico’s history. It highlights surging public anger over two gruesome murders in February, the latest in a sharp upswing in gender-based killings, known as “femicides.”

As many as 2,760 female police officers were deployed to the march in Mexico City, local authorities said, and 120 representatives from the Human Rights Commission of Mexico City monitored the event after threats of physical violence and acid attacks against participants circulated on social media.

Metro stations will remain open late in the city to facilitate the movement of protesters, Mayor Claudia Sheinbaum said in a tweet. Participants have been advised to take precautions for their safety.

‘Cupid’s Fault’

In one recent incident, Ingrid Escamilla, 25, was killed and skinned, allegedly by her 46-year-old partner. Her mutilated body was discovered on Feb. 9, and horrific photos of her corpse circulated on social media. A newspaper printed one on its front page under the headline, “It Was Cupid’s Fault,” stirring more fury over cavalier attitudes toward femicides.

Several days after Escamilla’s death a seven-year-old girl, identified only as Fatima, was abducted, sexually abused and murdered.

The deaths have sparked criticism of the government of Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador for failing to curb the gender violence that the United Nations says affects seven in 10 Mexican women.

Under Lopez Obrador’s watch, more than 1,000 women were murdered in 2019, up from 912 the prior year and 426 in 2015. The spike in gender violence is in line with a general increase in Mexico’s homicide rates, which have jumped 93% since 2015. In 2019, an average of about 100 people were killed every day.

Activists have also called for a women’s strike on Monday, and millions of women across the country are expected to stay home from work. Mexico’s federal government and some of the country’s largest companies, including Wal-Mart de Mexico SAB, Walmart’s local subsidiary, have promised no retribution against women who participate in the boycott.

As the march in Mexico City snaked toward the Zocalo, the capital’s central square, the shouts of demonstrators reached a fever pitch. Some broke windows and defaced buildings, and there were clashes with the police.

“They are killing us and nobody does anything,” said Laura Berron, 27, her voice cracking with emotion. “But we’re not afraid, we’re convinced this will generate change.”

To contact the reporters on this story: Amy Stillman in Mexico City at astillman7@bloomberg.net;Lorena Rios in Mexico City at lriost@bloomberg.net;Cyntia Barrera Diaz in Mexico City at cbarrerad@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: David Marino at dmarino4@bloomberg.net, Ian Fisher

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