New anti-femicide law seeks expanded definition and increased prison time: Tuesday’s mañanera recapped

• ⚖️ New anti-femicide law — Attorney General Ernestina Godoy unveiled a landmark bill to standardize femicide classifications and punishments nationwide: 40–70 years in prison for femicide, 20+ years for attempts, with 21 aggravating factors (e.g., victims who were pregnant, minors or elderly).

• 🗂️ Uniform investigations — All Attorney General’s offices would be required to investigate every violent death of a woman or girl under the femicide hypothesis.

• 📊 By the numbers — 6,440 femicides recorded in Mexico between January 2019 and January 2026.

• 🗳️ “Plan B” electoral reform in doubt — Sheinbaum conceded that her “Plan B” bill may not pass Congress, as the Labor Party (PT) is resistant to the proposed law, but she remains confident that it will. Nevertheless, she didn’t rule out a “Plan C” electoral reform. 

• 🛢️ Pemex + Petrobras? — Sheinbaum confirmed that Brazil’s President Lula da Silva proposed a joint venture between the two state oil giants to explore deepwater oil in the Gulf of Mexico. No decision yet; talks will continue in April.

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Why today’s mañanera matters

Time and time again, President Claudia Sheinbaum has spoken of her commitment to improving the lives of Mexican women. That commitment has gone beyond rhetoric to the enshrinement of a range of women’s rights in the Mexican Constitution, the carrying out of a 16-day campaign “against violence toward women” and the classification of sexual harassment as a crime in federal law, among other measures.

Still, Sheinbaum acknowledged earlier this month that her government needs to do more for Mexican women.

On Tuesday, a legislative initiative that seeks to address the most serious problem Mexican women face — violence — was unveiled.

Sheinbaum’s mañanera was also significant as the president acknowledged that her “plan B” electoral reform bill might not get through Congress, and confirmed that Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (Lula) had proposed a joint venture between Mexican state oil company Pemex and its Brazilian counterpart Petrobras.

AG presents new anti-femicide law 

Attorney General Ernestina Godoy presented a proposed General Law to Prevent, Investigate, Sanction and Provide Compensation for the Crime of Femicide.

The bill seeks to establish a national classification of femicide — the killing of a woman or girl due to “reasons of gender” — and uniform punishment for the crime across the country.

Godoy explained that among nine “reasons of gender” that would result in the murder of a female being classified as a femicide are that the body of the femicide victim showed “signs of sexual violence,” and that the perpetrator had previously committed acts of violence against the victim.

The proposed law seeks to establish a punishment of 40 to 70 years imprisonment and a hefty fine for a person found guilty of committing femicide. Attempted femicide would be punished by a minimum prison sentence of 20 years.

Godoy explained that the bill proposes the establishment of 21 aggravating factors that would result in a perpetrator of femicide being given a longer prison sentence. They include that the victim was a girl, adolescent or elderly woman; that the victim was pregnant or had a disability; and that the femicide was committed in front of the victim’s children.

Godoy said that the bill seeks to standardize “investigation protocols” in cases of femicide across Mexico. If the bill is approved, all Attorney General’s offices would be required to investigate all violent deaths of women and girls “under the hypothesis of femicide.”

Sheinbaum said that the proposed law would be sent to the lower house of Congress on Tuesday.

Femicide has long been a major problem in Mexico. Between January 2019 and January 2026, there were 6,440 femicides in Mexico, according to official data cited in an El Universal newspaper report.

Could there be a ‘plan C’ electoral reform?

Asked whether she would develop a ‘plan C’ electoral reform proposal if her ‘plan B’ bill is rejected by Congress, Sheinbaum said she didn’t know, but didn’t rule out that possibility.

She subsequently expressed confidence that her ‘plan B’ proposal will, in fact, pass Congress, even though the Labor Party (PT) — an ally of the ruling Morena party — appears unlikely to support the bill in its current form.

“I don’t think [PT lawmakers] are going to vote against eliminating privileges,” Sheinbaum said.

▶️ “Habría que ver, pero no creo que vayan a votar en contra de eliminar privilegios”: Claudia Sheinbaum señaló que la votación de su ‘Plan B’ de reforma electoral mostrará “quiénes son todos”

📺 La #MañaneraDelPueblo en @mileniotv pic.twitter.com/UmvjzX3Fql

— Milenio (@Milenio) March 24, 2026

Among a range of objectives, the president’s “plan B” proposal seeks to reduce or eliminate excessive benefits received by lawmakers at the different levels of government. Sheinbaum submitted it to Congress after her original, more ambitious, electoral reform proposal was rejected by Congress earlier this month.

The PT is not happy with an aspect of “Plan B” that could allow a presidential recall election to be held in 2027 at the same time as a federal congressional election, as the party reportedly believes such a scenario would erode its support at the ballot box and benefit Morena. The PT’s opposition to the law, combined with its rejection by opposition parties, could doom it to failure in Congress.

Sheinbaum confirms that Lula proposed Pemex-Petrobras joint venture

Sheinbaum confirmed that during her call with Lula earlier this month, the Brazilian president proposed the establishment of a joint venture between Pemex and Petrobras to explore oil in the Gulf of Mexico.

Lula revealed that he had made the proposal during an event in Brazil last Friday.

On Tuesday morning, Sheinbaum said:

“He said to me, ‘Why don’t we make an alliance?’ Petrobras has specialized a lot in deep waters, so he proposed, ‘Why don’t we make an alliance with Pemex?'”

Sheinbaum said that her government hasn’t yet decided whether Pemex will enter into a joint venture project with Petrobras, but noted that the head of the Brazilian company will come to Mexico in April to meet with the CEO of Pemex and the federal energy minister.

She said that Brazil’s proposal will be discussed during those talks. Sheinbaum said that a joint venture with Petrobras would mainly focus on deepwater exploration and drilling for oil, rather than gas.

“We’re going to see what the proposal is. We haven’t made a decision yet, but it’s true that Lula proposed [a joint venture] and [the idea] comes from the president of Petrobras,” Sheinbaum said.