User:Daytonaklink/Feminism in Mexico

2019- Present Day
In early August 2019, around 300 women in Mexico City gathered to protest two incidents of accused rape of a teenage girl by policemen, which had occurred within a few days of each other. Mexico City Mayor Claudia Sheinbaum, ally to President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, "infuriated feminist protesters by branding their first mobilisation – which resulted in the glass entrance to the attorney general’s office being smashed – a provocation”, leading to thousands more gathering to protest. Furthermore, President López Obrador himself was elected on a populist left-wing platform, but made alliance with evangelical Christian conservatives, and has also enacted significant budget cuts to programs like women's shelters, which has further contributed to feminist disappointment and dissent with López Obrador and his ally Sheinbaum. Protesters and feminist activists called for an increase in police accountability, better media reporting and respect for the privacy of rape victims, and policy at the local and federal level for increased security and action against domestic violence and femicide. Protesters and activists called attention to widespread harassment and murder, with nearly 70% of Mexican women being victims of sexual assault and around 9 women killed every day, as well as a very low rate of rape reporting due to a lack in trust of the police. Since August 2019 there have been a number of marches and protests centered around stopping violence against women in Mexico in Mexico City with hundreds of participants, notably after The Day of the Dead celebrations (early November 2019) and International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women 2019.

In 2020 a National Women’s Strike was held in Mexico on March 9, partly organized by Arussi Unda, to protest and raise awareness of the increasing violence faced by women across the country. The COVID-19 pandemic in Mexico and accompanying lockdowns put a damper on the growing movement, and the March 8, 2021, International Women's Day demonstrations were smaller and generally more peaceful than those of previous years. Much of the women′s ire was directed at AMLO personally and MORENA′s support of accused rapist Felix Salgado as a candidate for governor of Guerrero. AMLO insists he has been a strong supporter of women′s rights and of feminism. Although the world was shutting down due to COVID-19, the number of women being murdered continued to increase. There was a 2.7% increase in killings from the year 2022 to 2023. Flashing forward to 2024, femicide in Mexico has steadily increased each year. However, this does not stop the crowds of women who show up each International Women's Day to support a change in women's rights in their country.

As of 2023 in the Global Gender Gap Index measurement of countries by the World Economic Forum, Mexico, is ranked 33rd on gender equality; the United States is ranked 43rd.