User:Contrerasbri/be bold

Mexico
Historically, Mexico has been a country with one the highest femicide rates in Latin America. From the years 2015-2021, Mexico had a 135% increase of femicide, going from 427 victims to a little above 1,000 victims. In Mexico, the Ni Una Menos movement has played a very prevailing role. While there have been many street demonstrations following the Ni Una Menos movement in Mexico, there was a bigger nationwide strike and Ni Una Menos protest on March 9, 2020. This protest consisted of women only staying home, meaning women didn’t go to school, work, or any public place. This nationwide strike was carried out due to the lack of government involvement and cooperation to address and handle femicide, domestic violence and other issues. Unfortunately, due to COVID-19, Ni Una Menos demonstrations or organizing was deterred, and femicide cases during the pandemic continued to increase. However, as of recently, there have been a few efforts seen by the Mexican government. For example, there is a prosecutor’s office that is dedicated to gender crimes, including femicides. Nevertheless, femicide is still an ongoing issue and tragic reality for many women in Mexico, and other countries across Latin America.

The Green Tide
While the Ni Una Menos movement is a broader and bigger movement, this movement has inspired and has been incorporated or infused within other movements. This is seen in the Green Tide movement. The Green Tide movement refers to the movement in Latin America that fights for reproductive justice such as the legalization of abortion, which is heavily promoted through the usage of green bandanas or green scarves. The green bandanas were originally a symbol that represented the right to legalized abortions used by the National Campaign for Legal, Safe, and Free Abortion. This campaign is a campaign from Argentina that presented a bill in 2003, calling for the legalization of abortion, however, they received no luck in passing it. While the symbol and representation behind the green scarf was first started by the National Campaign for Legal, Safe, and Free Abortion, the Ni Una Menos movement is what really popularized it and spread the symbol across Latin America. Many Ni Una Menos protests and demonstrations in Latin America are accompanied by the green bandanas/ scarves. Along with these green pañuelos or bandanas, were many chants, such as the chant “Las ricas abortan, las pobres mueren”, meaning the rich women abort, while the poor women die, highlighting the injustices and disproportionate inequalities that affect poor women due to the inaccessibility to a legal abortion. Although the Ni Una Menos movement’s prime objective is to fight against femicide and domestic abuse, general women’s rights such as the right to an abortion was heavily integrated into the movement. With many Ni una Menos protests accompanied by the green scarves and the green movement, on December 30, 2020, abortion of up to 14 weeks of pregnancy was legalized in Argentina, the heart and origin of the movement. The spreading of the green tide due to the Ni Una Menos movement made a huge impact in many other countries such as Mexico. In September 2021, the Mexican Supreme Court declared that abortions would no longer be criminalized. Furthermore, every year on September 28 on International Safe Abortion Day and March 8, International Women’s day, cities across Latin America become visually green, as they are filled with green pañuelos and green bandana demonstrations, showing the impact of the green tide that was preached by the Ni Una Menos movement.

Justicia para Nuestras Hijas
Another movement that incorporates Ni Una Menos values is the organization, Justicia para Nuestras Hijas, or Justice for our Daughters. Justicia para Nuestras Hijas is an activist group that advocates for the rights and justice of femicide victims in Chihuahua, Mexico. This group is made up of family members and activists who seek justice for their daughters, and want an end to femicide in Mexico. Due to the lack of proper investigation and government negligence, this organization conducts their own investigations in order to acquire justice for femicide victims or for missing women. When there are public demonstrations or protests on the streets by this group, they carry a pink cross as their symbol. On this pink cross is the phrase “Ni Una Menos”. This group carries on the message and incorporates the values of the Ni Unas Menos movement as the movement fights against femicide.

Diversity
The Ni Una Menos has been a welcoming movement that has created a safe space for people of many different intersectionalities. The movement's diversity encourages younger generations to join the movement regardless of their backgrounds and identities. The movement's diversity also plays into part as to why it has been successful and why it has been so widespread across Latin America. The inclusion and welcoming of Black, indigenous, trans, and queer women has allowed the movement to gain a lot of support and followers. The movement is not limited to one identity or one certain woman, but instead accounts for many women and the many intersectionalities that encompass Latin America. While other movements such as the #MeToo movement are critiqued for the lack of inclusion and taking into account structural issues such as race, the Ni Una Menos movement actually acknowledges structural issues such as race and gender in society. By using intersectional feminism, the Ni Una Menos movement is able to address issues affecting women with a broader perspective and are able to connect issues such as femicide to other gender and racial issues prevalent in society.