zapatistas

Once again, the women’s movement has been making headlines across Mexico. This time after a militant protest shocked the media and the political establishment. On August 12, images of angry women destroying the glass windows of a police station were broadcast by mainstream media outlets and shared widely on social media. The media sought to sensationalize the protests and to mobilize public opinion against an insurgent feminist movement.

The protests came about after a series of reports which accused police officers of raping a teenage woman in the Azcapotzalco neighborhood of Mexico City. Upon hearing of this police rape, many other cases came to light and feminist collectives called for a national day of protest which took place on August 15. The protest resonated across Mexico and saw demonstrations and actions in large and small cities outside the capital.

The protesters were even more enraged after the new Morenista mayor of Mexico City, Claudia Sheinbaum, called the women provocateurs arguing that their actions sought to provoke the use of force by the police. However, the popular indignation in the movement, and the large protest on the 15 of August forced Sheinbaum to apologize to the women’s collectives and forced the city government to publicly re- commit to reduce violence and rapes against women in Mexico City.