Organizations Announce Support for Women’s Strike in Mexico

Chilean women participate in a Women’s Day 2018 strike similar to the one expected in Mexico to advocate equal rights and greater legal protection for women. (Creative Commons)

Mexico’s Ministry of Public Education announced on February 27 that it would allow all female employees to participate in the national women’s strike on March 9 on the condition that they inform administrators at least a week in advance. Mexican Secretary of Education Esteban Moctezuma Barragán tweeted an explanation for his decision on the matter, expressing support for gender equality and the movement for women’s rights in Mexico. The strike, which is known best by its hashtag, “UnDiaSinNosotras” (“A Day Without Us”), celebrates International Women’s Day and coincides with a rising epidemic of violence against women in Mexico.

With this declaration, the Ministry became part of a growing list of both public and private organizations that support the Women’s Day protest. National political parties, federal and local governments, and private companies have all conveyed support for or solidarity with the planned strike. At the national level, the Chamber of Deputies, the Senate, the Supreme Court of Justice, and four major political parties all support the action and will allow employees to participate without repercussions. Eight universities, including the Autonomous University of Mexico, also indicated that they will support employees who participate. Additionally, the state governments of Jalisco, Michoacan, Sonora, and Yucatan will participate in the strike, while the Business Coordinating Council has asked its members to “respect the will” of employees who decide to participate.

Some public figures were not as sympathetic to the movement. The Mexican Chamber of Commerce explained that while it supports protests and the expression of views, it cannot support any activity that might disrupt business operations—putting it fundamentally at odds with the strike. 

At the highest level of the country’s leadership, President Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO) indicated that the federal government would not retaliate against employees. However, he also suggested that conservatives are behind the movement sponsoring the strike. AMLO, a populist and left-wing leader, points to some right-wing politicians and parties who have joined the movement as proof that it is driven, at least in part, by political opportunism. 

Feminist groups pushed back against this claim, criticizing the president for appearing to care more about scoring political points against his opponents than solving the growing crisis of gender violence. They also questioned what efforts they would have to undergo for him to listen, noting that they have protested exhaustively without an adequate response from the government, implying that he does not care enough to stop gender violence.

Gender violence is a long-standing problem that has confronted many contemporary presidential administrations in Mexico. The issue has worsened in recent years: the number of female homicide victims rose from 916 between January and November 2007 to 2,564 during the same time period in 2019. This rise comes despite more than 11 efforts to strengthen the General Law on Women’s Access to a Life Free of Violence and despite increases in federal agencies’ power to develop the well-being of women. 

The rising problem received national attention in two recent heinous cases, which some cite as inspiration for the “Day Without Us.” The first case involves a seven-year-old girl named Fatima, who was apparently abducted on February 11 from her school and found dead four days later after extensive torture and abuse. Although authorities took weeks to solve the murder, they have now arrested a married couple whom they suspect kidnapped Fatima. Another case that inspired protest is that of 25-year-old Ingrid Escamilla; on February 9th, her boyfriend murdered and dismembered her, and photos from the crime scene eventually went viral for their brutality. 

Both murders have inspired national outrage and support for a greater degree of protection for women. Though this women’s movement continues to receive greater degrees of institutional support, so far changes in the laws and executive authority have failed to achieve the reduction in violence that the government had promised.