A group of feminists voiced their disapproval for a book on display at the Guadalajara Book Fair by burning it.
Wearing the green bandanas that have become characteristic of the feminist movement, the protesters stole several copies of a book entitled Psico-Terapia Pastoral (Pastoral Psycho-Therapy) by Juan Manuel Rodríguez and Misael Ramírez, which talks of changing sexual orientation through spiritual therapies.
The books were taken outside the fair on Friday and burned.
The feminists earlier gave a performance of the popular A rapist in your way by the Chilean collective Las Tesis before moving through the fair chanting slogans.
The protest also demanded justice for Ana Daniela Vega González, 29, a University of Guanajuato (UG) student who was murdered on November 30. Her ex-boyfriend is believed to have been responsible.
“If the fair as so many eyes, well, they’ll turn to look at us. We need to make more noise so that they hear us,” one protester told the newspaper El Universal before the book burning began.
“Protesting here is the best opportunity we have to be heard, after so many criticisms that have been made of our movement. It’s a way of projecting what we want to change,” said another.
Fair organizers coordinated to facilitate the group’s movement through the aisles. Aside from the burned books, there were no other instances of vandalism or violence in the protest.
The book fair closed yesterday after welcoming more than 840,000 visitors.
Sources: El Universal (sp), 24 Horas (sp)
