A Women's March in Mexico City Turns Violent, With at Least 81 Injured

[Omaha Steve]

Source: NY Times

Armed with blowtorches and hammers, women demonstrated at the president’s residence, demanding that Mexico’s government take action to address one of the world’s worst rates of gender violence.

By Maria Abi-Habib and Oscar Lopez

MEXICO CITY — Hundreds of women marched on Mexico’s seat of government Monday, some carrying their children, others blowtorches, bats and hammers, prepared for a confrontation they hoped would force the country to tackle rampant violence against women.

The International Women’s Day protest was fueled by anger at President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, who has backed a politician accused by several women of rape in a country that suffers some of the world’s worst rates of gender violence. Despite a rift within the governing party over the issue, Mr. López Obrador has supported the politician ahead of June elections.

As the protesters gathered around the national palace — Mr. Lopez Obrador’s residence and the seat of government — their ire was focused on a metal fence that had been erected to protect the building from being overrun. Women wearing black balaclavas pulled down parts of the barricade as the police fired volleys of flash-bang grenades into the crowd, causing several small stampedes.

At least 62 police and 19 civilians were injured by late Monday evening, according to Mexico City’s security branch.



The police sprayed some protesters with fire retardant.Credit...Ginnette Riquelme/Associated Press


Read more: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/08/world/americas/mexico-city-womens-day-protest.html

[Irish_Dem]

1. When will women be free and safe on this planet?

[niyad]

3. Sadly, not any time soon.

[Irish_Dem]

4. Why do men keep abusing, killing, and controlling women?

[niyad]

8. Womb envy. Freud had it backwards. We can do something that men cannot. And, under patriarchy,

we are conditioned to hate and fear that ability under the brainwashing that females are less than males, not truly human. And their fear now is that, should women gain power, we will visit righteous retribution upon them.

[Irish_Dem]

11. Right, Freud saw the world through a paternal male lens.

Men envy women at the same time see them as weak and helpless.
Because of their smaller size and constant childbearing before birth control.

Male DNA seems programmed to take over any people who are different and perceived as weaker. And they fear any loss of power. Right, they probably see women potentially retaliating, but this is pure projection. Women want to be treated like equal human beings. I don't see women interested in wide spread carnage of any sort, as historically they are the ones who have to deal with the clean up.

[electric_blue68]

15. But what about women who are not interested in...

having children?

I never wanted children. I also want excellent pre-natal care, a safe delivery room, excellent post-natal care including watching for signs of post partem depression, safe food & drinking water so the family, children and new babies will thrive. And safe housing, etc because so many things connect together.

Those poor women. 😥🤬
And we still have our problems here, too! 🤬

[niyad]

16. The fact that some of us choose not to have children makes us unnatural, and even more to be

loathed.

[electric_blue68]

17. In '74 was very lucky to have parents who didn't ...

bother me at all about not having children!
I wonder if she talked to her siblings/SILs/BIL about
not bothering me!

Living in more liberal NYC helped, too, I bet.

From the uncomfortable, to nasty, to deadly what us
women have had to deal with. We stand on the shoulders of the women, and empathetic men who fought for, or supported equality.

[Hortensis]

13. When they organize, unite with good men to outvote bad to enact protective laws,

and then use the enormous power of the law against their oppressors? You know, the old-fashioned way that's worked in 100 nations, including Mexico.

Inciting violence against themselves is a viable tactic for those not concerned with being safe. Maybe note the striking similarity between this and the RW mob attack on our government.

I strongly suspect the trumpist violence inspired this, and of course this violent mob also had to stopped.

Not just mean times. Violent and stupid times.

Good grief.

[50 Shades Of Blue]

2. Whoa! I don't normally endorse violence but can't help thinking they're true heroines!

[Irish_Dem]

5. Yes. Sometimes victims have to fight back any way they can.

[Cinnamonspice]

6. I was just thinking the other day.....

What would happen if there was a Womens Lives Matter movement? Domestic violence is the number one cause of homicide for women and yet nothing is done about it. What if protests turned into unrest? Would there then be a push to do something?


I do not support violence, but these are questions that have come into my head. What would happen if we took saving women's lives as seriously as others? It always seems like women come in last.

[niyad]

10. I have thought the same thing. The sad truth is that, under patriarchy, women's lives do NOT

matter. The pedestal is actually a prison.

[niyad]

7. Thank you for posting about the heartbreaking gender violence in Mexico. Would you consider

cross-posting this important piece in Women's Rights And Issues? Thanks in advance.

[janterry]

9. Sex-based oppression is rampant in many countries

939 women were victims of femicide in Mexico last year

[Warpy]

12. The cops strike again

Cops should have held back unless they attacked the building, itself. Likely it would have remained more peaceful.

The situation for women in Mexico is pretty desperate. The government knows it needs to act but men don't wanna.

Same story everywhere, just a lot worse in Mexico.

[oasis]

14. Brave women of Mexico. Call it out. nt

[Nazipuncher]

18. Once again, Women are going to save this world.

I wish them success.