Women in Mexico fight femicide | DW Documentary

Key Concepts

• Femicide: The intentional killing of women or girls because of their gender.
• Patriarchal Values: A social system in which men hold primary power and predominate in roles of political leadership, moral authority, social privilege, and control of property.
• Gender Perspective: An approach that considers the impact of gender on people's opportunities, social roles, and interactions, particularly in legal and institutional contexts.
• Criminalization of Feminist Struggle: The act of treating feminist activism and protest as criminal activity, often through arrests, imprisonment, and legal persecution.
• Direct Action: Nonviolent or violent actions taken by activists to directly achieve their goals, often involving public demonstrations, property damage, or occupation.
• Public Ministry: A government agency responsible for prosecuting criminal offenses and representing the public interest in legal matters.
• Gender Alert: A mechanism implemented in Mexico to address and prevent gender-based violence in specific regions, triggering coordinated actions from state authorities.

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The Pervasive Crisis of Violence Against Women in Mexico

Mexico faces a severe crisis of violence against women, with an estimated 10 women killed daily. Approximately a quarter of these cases are investigated as femicide. This violence is deeply rooted in a society grappling with ongoing drug trafficking and entrenched patriarchal values, making accountability for perpetrators an "uphill battle." The state's "incompetence" and lack of "gender perspective" in authorities are frequently cited as major impediments to justice.

The Rise of a Multi-Generational Feminist Movement

After years of minimal progress in the justice system, mothers of murdered and missing women and girls have united, forming a powerful, multi-generational movement demanding an end to femicide nationwide. This movement includes diverse voices and groups:

• María del Carmen Volante: Mother of Pamela Gallardo, who disappeared.
• Ara Osorio: Mother of Lesvy Berlín, a femicide victim whose case garnered international attention.
• M.O.F.A. Collective: Students from the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), who cover their faces due to fear of reprisal and were instrumental in Lesvy's case.
• "Siemprevivas": A feminist collective known for creating "memory blankets."
• Obeja Negra: A rapper and activist.
• "Vivas en la Memoria": A collective of embroiderers who commemorate victims through art.
• Flora Gutiérrez: An Indigenous lawyer and women's rights advocate from Oaxaca.
• María Fernanda Ruiz: A photographer and activist for Pie de Página, an independent media outlet.

Personal Testimonies and the Fight for Justice

The transcript highlights several harrowing personal accounts:

• Diana Velázquez Florencio (Chimalhuacán, July 2nd, 2017): Murdered after leaving home, her family was not informed she was in the coroner's office. Her mother laments the state's incompetence preventing mourning.
• Fátima (February 5th, 2015): A 12-year-old girl raped, tortured, and murdered 100 meters from her home in La Lupita, State of Mexico.
• Pamela Gallardo (November 5th): Disappeared after attending concerts, her mother describes the "ordeal" of searching for her.
• Lesvy Berlín (May 3rd, 2017, UNAM campus): Initially investigated as a suicide, authorities re-victimized her on Twitter, claiming she drank, took drugs, and had quit her studies. This sparked outrage and galvanized activists, including UNAM students, who successfully pressured authorities to reclassify it as femicide. Her mother, Ara Osorio, dedicated herself to telling Lesvy's true story.

These stories underscore the profound grief, the state's failure to investigate properly, and the re-victimization faced by victims and their families.

Activist Strategies and State Repression

Activists employ various strategies to demand change:

• Public Protests and Direct Action: Demonstrations, spray-painting slogans like "We want to live," and even burning police stations. The 8M movement in 2018 and 2019 saw massive demonstrations, including placing a statue with "Mexico femicide" on a major monument. The collective response to property damage was "It was all of us," emphasizing collective responsibility and solidarity.
• Art and Commemoration: The "Vivas en la Memoria" collective in Ecatepec, Nezahualcóyotl, and Chimalhuacán monthly embroider the cases of femicide victims, making their stories visible and harder to ignore. "Las Siemprevivas" created the first memory blanket for Lesvy.
• Legal Advocacy: Groups like the Network for Indigenous Lawyers work to bridge state laws with Indigenous traditions and advocate for victims.
• Media Engagement: Photographers like María Fernanda Ruiz document the movement, challenging mainstream media narratives that often only portray women as victims or angry, without explaining the underlying reasons for their frustration.

The state has responded to this growing movement with criminalization and repression. Magda and Karla, activists from Okupa Cuba, were arrested on April 15th, 2022, evicted, and imprisoned for almost 11 months in solitary confinement in Santa Martha Acatitla, receiving "rotten food." They were later released on parole, with their case described as "clearly persecution" and a "criminalization of the feminist struggle" intended to silence the movement.

Regional Challenges: Indigenous Communities in Oaxaca

In Oaxaca, home to 68 Indigenous groups (including Zapotecs, Mixtecs, Triquis, and Mazatecs), women's struggles take on unique forms. Flora Gutiérrez, an Indigenous lawyer, founded the Network for Indigenous Lawyers to support female victims of violence. She observed gender discrimination from a young age, questioning why women were prohibited from cutting their hair or why men treated women violently.

Challenges in Indigenous communities include:

• Lack of Access to Justice: Women in remote communities face significant barriers (transportation, money, childcare) to reach public ministries and courts, which are only in district capitals.
• Disregard for Local Authorities: State law often fails to recognize the mediating authority of local agents, trustees, or mayors in Indigenous communities, ignoring the diverse contexts in which women live.
• High Femicide Rates: Despite a "gender alert" in Oaxaca, 715 femicides have occurred, prompting protests against a "sexist Oaxacan society that is an accomplice."

The Network for Indigenous Lawyers aims to make these diverse realities visible and advocate for legal frameworks that respect and integrate Indigenous contexts. Flora's personal life, where her husband takes on traditional female roles, exemplifies a conscious effort to challenge patriarchal norms within her home, acknowledging it as an "exception" that requires broader societal change.

Synthesis and Conclusion: A Collective Struggle for Hope

The feminist movement in Mexico is a testament to resilience and collective action in the face of systemic violence and state repression. Activists emphasize the importance of unity ("It was all of us"), remembering victims, and building a better future for generations to come. They acknowledge that change is a long "transition process" and may not be fully realized in their lifetime, but the conviction to fight for a more "balanced, more equitable society" and "harmony between women and men" remains strong. The core message is that "if hope is taken away from us, there is nothing left," underscoring the vital role of collective hope and continuous struggle in challenging patriarchal culture and demanding justice.