Mexican Women Protest Gender Violence, But Is the Government Listening?

“I cannot fathom the extent of their pain, of course, but I know that if something were to happen to my mother or my friends, I would burn everything until justice were achieved.”

In Mexico, we have normalized many things that in other countries would be shocking national news every day, things that would cause most other governments to fall. Our newspapers publish photographs of the bodies of women who have been raped and killed beneath funny catchphrases and headlines. We say that women should be grateful that they are being harassed; we even blame the mother of a child who was brutally murdered “for not being there at the right time.” However, when groups of women try to de-normalize these actions and protest against a government that has done nothing tangible to eradicate gender violence, people can become critical.

What I usually argue when somebody tries to discourage the Mexican feminist movement—or even mock those who are brave enough to take the streets and paint public property—is that doing this is one of the only ways to get the Mexican government to listen and take action. In addition, the fact that women protest in such ways is related to the anger, tiredness, and impotence we feel after our sisters, daughters, mothers, and partners have been raped, killed, or have disappeared in an endless cycle of violence. Can you imagine what the mothers, sisters, friends, colleagues of little Fatima, young Ingrid, or tender Nadia felt after learning they were gruesomely murdered? I cannot fathom the extent of their pain, of course, but I know that if something were to happen to my mother or my friends, I would burn everything until justice were achieved.

So why are our leaders, particularly our President, so reluctant to listen even after learning how terribly Mexican women suffer day in day out?

I see no point in repeating what several media outlets have already stated: Mexican president Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO) will not change his strategy with regard to gender violence in Mexico. We know that feminist protests, including the 8M national protests (March 8th) and the 9M (March 9th) national strike #UnDiaSinNosotras have been heavily criticized by AMLO. He argued that these demonstrations of anger from women throughout Mexico have been solely the work of right-wing groups conspiring against him. In my view, however, our president has become blinded in such a way that he is now unable to see past his political problems; even after nearly a year-and-a-half in office, AMLO is still in a mindset of campaigning, rather than governing. This might not be true in all areas of public policy, of course. But it is certainly true when it comes to gender violence and the growing wave of femicides.