Hundreds of thousands of women all over Mexico are getting ready to participate in International Women’s Day (8M) marches and rallies on Friday.
Feminist groups, activists of various human rights movements, family members and friends will be taking to the streets nationwide to demand – among other things – access to safe and legal abortions in all states; the eradication of gender violence; access to more jobs and better wages; more help from men with domestic work; and justice in cases of femicide that remain unpunished.
According to María de la Luz Estrada, director of the National Citizens’ Observatory of Femicide (OCNF), more than 3,000 women, girls and adolescents are murdered each year, although only 24% of these cases are counted as feminicide.
In Mexico, the March 8, or 8M, demonstrations began in the 1970s, but “in recent years they have acquired a sense of urgency due to the sexist context that women continue to face in the country,” Sara González wrote in the newspaper El País. Massive gatherings are set to occur all over the country.
President Andrés Manuel López Obrador used his morning press conference to ask that the protests be peaceful. He also urged, “with all due respect,” that the demonstrators take off their hoods.
“It is not an order or a mandate, nor an instruction. It is a respectful recommendation,” he added. “If we live in a free country, why cover up? … You have to show your face.”
First and foremost, the 70-year-old AMLO stressed that he is 100% behind the right to demonstrate.
“Because in our country, there is no repression, freedoms are fully guaranteed, freedom of demonstration, expression, etc. are not limited,” he said. “It was before. I just say that you should try to protest, demonstrate, which is your right, in a peaceful manner.”
In Mexico City, 90,000 participants are expected, which would match last year’s total. Many streets will be closed to traffic as demonstrators follow a route that starts at the Glorieta de las Mujeres Que Luchan (Roundabout of the Women Who Fight).
Mexico City is also observing 8M with the Tiempo de Mujeres (Time for Women) festival from March 1-17, with more than 120 activities such as a March 16 free concert in the Zócalo by international pop star Julieta Venegas.
Other marches are scheduled in cities all across Mexico. Find your city and the departure point and time for the march below:
- Tijuana, La Glorieta, 1 p.m.
- Tlaxcala, Asta Bandera (La Virgen), 3 p.m.
- Oaxaca, Monumento a la Madre, 3:30 p.m.
- Villahermosa, Parque Estrella, 3:30 p.m.
- Mexico City, Glorieta de las Mujeres Que Luchan, 4 p.m.
- Monterrey, Explanada de Colegio Civil, 4 p.m.
- Querétaro, Plaza del Estudiante, 4 p.m.
- Puebla, El Gallito, 5 p.m.
- Morelia, Plaza Morelos/Plaza del Caballito, 5 p.m.
- Puerto Vallarta, Parque de las Mujeres, 5:40 p.m.
- Mérida, Plaza de España, 7:30 p.m.
Some demonstrations will include the construction or completion of (or paying homage to) an anti-monumento, installations that are traditionally placed during major protests in Mexico to remind people about important events and/or issues of justice that have been brushed aside or not adequately addressed by the government.
Many of these protest monuments relate to femicides, forced disappearances and violence against women. On Friday, at the installation in Mexico City (aptly referred to in the feminine anti-monumenta) where some marchers will gather, there will be an open microphone from 12-3:30 p.m. for direct and indirect victims of gender violence to speak their minds in a safe space.
With reports from El País, Animal Politico, Diario AS, La Voz, El Financiero and Mi Morelia
On the other hand… On 7 March 2024, the U.S. Consulate General in Merida issued a Security Alert, which reads in part as follows: “Demonstrations are expected to take place on March 8, beginning at 5:00 p.m. on Paseo de Montejo. Past demonstrations have turned violent. U.S. citizens should avoid participating in demonstrations that may be deemed political by authorities, as Mexican law prohibits political activities by foreign citizens, and participation may result in detention or deportation.”
Good for the Mexican women – I think it’s great that they make their voices be heard. It’s about time.
I must admit that I became suckered into the charm of many a Mexican man during my twelve years of living next to the bewitchingly beautiful turquoise El Mar del Caribe and the Riviera Maya! But what a different it was to get used to once you were considered their “esposa” (or not really!). You had to dress a certain way “on the street” so as not to make him “celoso” First time in my life I felt as though I was losing my right to be who I am. To me it was a game and I never would be able to take it seriously but I know the Mexican women had no other choice. And since they often had several children, they were stuck with the constant macho attitude. So I get it that they are marching in protest for their freedom and I would do the same in a minute. At the same time as I prefer the Mexican men in more ways than one. I guess you can’t have it all which is too bad. Suerte a las mujeres! !VIVA MEXICO!