Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum was groped by a man while engaging with citizens on the streets of Mexico City on Tuesday.
Video footage showed a visibly drunk man attempting to kiss President Sheinbaum, embracing her from behind, but President Sheinbaum calmly removed the man’s hands before an official stepped in. The man was subsequently arrested by the states police.
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The President later confirmed the incident, during a press briefing, promising she would press charges against him. The President used her daily press conference to turn the incident into a conversation about gender equality and justice.
This is something I experienced as a woman, but it is something that all women in our country experience…If they do this to the president, what happens to all the other women in the country?…If I do not file a complaint, where does that leave all Mexican women?
Feminist commentators emphasized the cultural normalization of harassment. Notable among all is Catalina Ruiz-Navarro, a journalist for the feminist outlet Volcánicas. She states;
Even if you’re the president, any guy believes he has the right to touch you
The incident occurred while the President was maintaining the practice of her predecessor, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, of mingling with crowds with few security operatives in order to remain accessible to the public.
Some Mexicans when interrogated questioned the lack of security presence during the event, recounting the recent killing of a popular mayor, Carlos Alberto Manzo Rodríguez, and a history of targeted attacks on public figures, including the 1994 assassination of a presidential candidate.
Alejandra Escobar, editorial director of Etcétera, wrote on X;
May this also serve as an example for her assistants. It is not acceptable for her to be so exposed
Despite the security breach, Sheinbaum still insists that she would not be changing her security arrangements;
We cannot distance ourselves from the people
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