Women break the silence and raise their voices

Only female police officers will be present at the march today in CDMX

Mérida, Yucatán (March 8, 2021).-International Women’s Day is commemorated this Monday in Mexico in a climate marked by the pandemic, the irrepressible gender violence, and the confrontation between feminist groups and the government of Andrés Manuel López Obrador.

The clash between the groups that defend women’s rights and the so-called 4T was accentuated over the weekend by the installation of the metal wall in the National Palace, which led to signs of repudiation and criticism of the López Obrador government, which they accuse of disdaining the feminist movement.

However, voices that emerge from various groups consider that this year, despite the pandemic and violence, there has been greater exposure to the issue of violence suffered by women not only in the social or family sphere but also in the political sphere.

“We have broken the silence”, said yesterday in Mexico City the lawyer and activist Patricia Olamendi, who admitted that, on the other hand, the “machismo” does not decrease.

In the same vein, Fabiola Alanís, director of the National Commission to Eradicate Violence against Women, stated that “now there is a greater possibility of being visible to the whole country’s population, and it is easier to identify situations of violence.”

Despite the obstacles, feminist groups have found a way to express their demands, and that is why the huge fences that guard the National Palace are an insult to the numerous victims of femicide. 

Feminist groups launched a call on social networks where they invite protesters to “fill the wall with flowers” during today’s march.

In defense of the wall, President López Obrador said yesterday that “it is better to put up a fence than to line up police officers in front of the women protesters.”

By the way, AMLO also reported that 1,700 female police officers will monitor today’s feminist march.

In Mérida, yesterday a march was held in Paseo Montejo, which started from “El Remate” and ended at the Monument to the Homeland.