8M: A Day to Engage with Women Fighting for Equity

March 8 is the day to engage with women fighting for equality. President Andrés Manuel López Obrador emphasized that March 8, known as 8M, is not a day to congratulate women but a day to commit to promoting a more equitable society, where women are treated with the same respect as men. "It is a day dedicated to women, to the fight of women for equity. It is not to congratulate but to reaffirm everyone's commitment to women's equity and to remind women of others in different times who have fought for it," López Obrador said. In addition, López Obrador said that his government has the highest participation of women, with half of his cabinet headed by women, and emphasized that no woman had ever led the Ministry of Interior (SEGOB), which is now led by Olga Sánchez Cordero. López Obrador also announced that a woman would replace Ricardo Sheffield, who is the Director of the Federal Consumer Prosecutor’s Office (PROFECO), after he resigned to run for mayor of Leon, Guanajuato.

Mexico has a historical debt to women. Sánchez emphasized that the country still has a historical debt to women and added that the government is moving toward equality. "Men have been the center of the social and political spheres, while women have had a secondary role, but throughout history, women have claimed their position." Sánchez emphasized Mexico is experiencing a historic moment and said, "let's leave a mark for history to say, we did it together, we did it all."

Only 10 percent of CONAVIM's recommendations have been implemented. Fabiola Alanís Sámano, Head of the National Commission to Prevent and Eradicate Violence Against Women (CONAVIM), said that "in 75 percent of femicides, the perpetrators are people close to them and as a result, we have provided 425 recommendations to prevent feminicides; however, only 10 percent have been implemented." Alanís emphasized that for the first time, coordination has been established to improve the response capacity of specialized prosecutors, prosecutors and other units and that the government has recruited 685 specialists to prevent femicides.

Government is not against the feminist movement. López Obrador explained that political opponents have been attacking his government, pretending to sympathize with the feminist movement. However, López Obrador assured that his government is not against women or the feminist movement, but against authoritarianism, hypocrisy, corruption and injustice. "Our government will never unleash repression. The people of Mexico will never be repressed. The police and the army will not be used to repress people, we are different from the conservatives who now pretend to be feminists and get angry because we put up a fence to prevent violence. We don't want anyone to get hurt and we have to take care of women, even those who protest violently," said López Obrador. In addition, López Obrador called on everyone to carry out a peaceful march today in Mexico City.

For the first time, the National Palace was surrounded with a fence to protect it from protests; however, hours later it was overtaken by feminist groups who turned it into a "wall of memory" for all the femicide victims. The Palace of Fine Arts, Benito Juárez Hemicycle, the Bank of Mexico, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and 34 monuments were also protected. The decision was criticized by feminist and opposition groups who described the measure as an impediment to free protests and an unnecessary expense that could have been destined to find and protect women, reported France 24.

New way to steal gasoline. Sheffield reported that the most expensive gasoline is sold at a gas station in Isla Mujeres in Quintana Roo for MX$22, while the cheapest is sold for MX$18.43 in San Mateo Atenco in the State of Mexico. Sheffield also reported that his department received 222 complaints, from which 178 visits were made and 74 were not verified because they did not allow them. In addition, PROFECO discovered a new way that criminals are stealing gasoline from customers at a Michoacan station, "which allows anyone to control the pump flow and modify it remotely."

The legalization of marijuana will be discussed. López Obrador said that today Congress will discuss the legalization of marijuana and announced that his government will implement a campaign to raise awareness about the risk and danger of drugs. "We are helping farmers in areas where marijuana and poppies are grown, especially in Guerrero, Sinaloa and Chihuahua, the so-called Golden Triangle, with the ‘Sowing Life’ program that seeks to provide other options for planting," López Obrador said.

Click HERE for full transcript in Spanish

TAGS  AMLO Briefing, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, Presidencia de la República,