Tuesday, September 6th, marked a historical day in Mexico for women’s rights. The supreme court ruled a unanimous vote against an unconstitutional law in Coahuila state, effectively decriminalizing abortion across the nation. Ultimately, this precedent will allow women to challenge unlawful arrest and laws against abortion, providing more protections to women in Mexico (CNN). In 2007, abortion was legalized in Mexico City, but the procedure was still attached to stigma and criminal charges (CNN). Mexico follows suit after Argentina legalized abortion in December of 2020 (NYT). This is in stark juxtaposition to neighboring Texas, where restrictions were just tightened on abortion. In a predominantly Catholic and conservative country, this is a monumental step for women’s bodily autonomy and a win for women's health advocates.
In response to these violent acts, protests and demonstrations have popped up throughout Mexico. One of these demonstrations occurred on March 8th, on National Women’s Day. Women dressed in purple and stormed the national palace, writing the names of thousands of victims on a barrier erected to protect the president (CSIS). In response to these protests, President Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO) dismissed the whole mission of the demonstration. His administration has made some steps towards addressing femicide. For example, they have formed a general plan to mitigate the problem and issue a "gender violence alert" throughout 19 states in Mexico (CSIS). However, these policies are nothing but niceties to appease the public, and women are angry. They demand to be heard and are tired of being fearful in their everyday lives.
The president himself has been passive in most decisions regarding the protection of women. He calls himself a ‘humanist’ (as opposed to a feminist) and progressive politician but has recently refused to even comment on the supreme court's decision for fear of angering his conservative base (CNN). One highest point of contention is AMLO’s support of former senator Salgado Macedonio, who has multiple rapes and sexual assault allegations against him (CBS). These actions and his generally dismissive attitude towards women prove he is not a champion for women. Instead, he does not understand the role of the patriarchy and gender-targeting that plagues Mexico. Women are and feel unsafe, even with victories from the Mexican Supreme Court.
The Center for Strategic and International Studies provides some crucial insights, stating that "funding a special prosecutor's office for the investigation and prosecution of gender-based crimes, promoting early intervention domestic violence programs and publicly supporting demonstrators and activists" are strategies to address femicide (CSIS). The administration needs to be more on board with protecting their citizens, especially vulnerable women populations that are disproportionately murdered. Overall, the recent Supreme Court decisions show change is possible, but there needs to be more policy implementation and progressive thinking to decrease femicide and the mistreatment of women in Mexico.
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