Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum was harassed by an unknown man on Tuesday afternoon who approached her, tried to kiss her, and touched her breast, all while a crowd surrounding the president looked on in astonishment without any immediate reaction. The harassment only stopped when Juan José Ramírez Mendoza, head of the General Directorate of Aides-de-Camp — a team of people who accompany the president in her daily activities — stepped in between the president and the man. The incident was captured on cell phone cameras by bystanders.
The delayed reaction of the team following Sheinbaum — who, like her predecessor Andrés Manuel López Obrador, has rejected the idea of a Presidential Guard — has once again brought the level of presidential protection into sharp focus, in a country still reeling from the recent assassination of Carlos Manzo, the mayor of Uruapan, Michoacán, at a public event.
Incidents like the one the president experienced this Tuesday happen every day to women of all ages in every corner of Mexico. According to data from the National Institute of Statistics and Geography (INEGI), 45% of women in Mexico have been victims of street harassment. The president left the National Palace at midday, and walked to the Ministry of Public Education in the city center, less than half a mile away. Sheinbaum, who occasionally makes public walks like this, was surrounded by people who approached her to take pictures and greet her.
At one point, directly in front of the camera that was filming her walk, a man approached her from her left side, put his arm around her shoulders, leaned in to kiss her neck, and touched her breast. The president, who until that moment had been greeting the people around her from the opposite side, removed the aggressor’s hands, which were already resting on her body, without being abrupt but visibly uncomfortable, and a few moments later she smiled nervously at Juan José Ramírez’s intervention. Seconds later, she was heard saying, “Don’t worry,” and signaled to her colleague that the man could take the photo.
According to the Federal Penal Code, non-consensual physical contact could constitute the crime of sexual harassment, which carries a sentence of one to five years in prison. In Mexico City, such conduct is punishable by up to four years in prison, in addition to a fine and the possibility of a restraining order. Late last night, some media outlets reported that the man had been arrested, although no authority has confirmed this.
For activists and women’s rights advocates, this incident, which demonstrates the normalization of this behavior in Mexico, could serve as an opportunity for President Sheinbaum to send a strong message about the sexist violence from which she herself, in front of dozens of people with cameras in hand, has not been able to escape.
The president did not make any statements until almost midnight, but the Secretariat for Women — created by her administration — and other groups issued a statement that acknowledged that “unfortunately, no woman is exempt from experiencing sexual harassment” in Mexico. “It is essential that men understand that this type of behavior not only violates women but is also a crime.” The statement added that “this type of violence should not be trivialized” and that “reporting it is essential to achieving justice and contributing to cultural change.”
Lawyer and feminist activist Diana Luz Vázquez reflects: “The president has a great opportunity, through her voice and her position, to set boundaries against violence and against men who perpetrate violence. If a man does that to a female president, imagine the violence to which all of us are exposed. Men who feel that our bodies are at their disposal or that they can touch us without any consequences. I think it’s a good time for her to send an important message about this violence and to stop normalizing the actions of her male ‘colleagues’ who are also abusers.”
Specialists and international organizations report that victims of street harassment often experience a combination of physical and emotional reactions, such as confusion, anxiety, guilt, shame, or symptoms of stress, in response to the trauma caused by the aggression.
Security failures
In November 2024, Sheinbaum clarified that, just as her predecessor, López Obrador, she would not have a security detail like previous presidents, who had the Presidential General Staff at their service, an elite group within the Army exclusively responsible for the security of Mexican presidents and their families. Questioned about her decision, Sheinbaum responded: “The Presidential General Staff was abolished when President López Obrador took office.”
Among the reasons the former president gave for dismantling this group were its high cost to the public coffers and the argument that, in reality, he didn’t need it, because the people would take care of him. This time, the people have failed to prevent President Sheinbaum from suffering an episode of harassment that highlights the normalization of gender-based violence in Mexico.
The incident comes at a time when the safety of officials in Mexico is being called into question, following the assassination Saturday night of Mayor Carlos Manzo in Uruapan during a public celebration. The mayor was known for leading operations himself in the streets, wearing a bulletproof vest and harshly criticizing the security strategy promoted by the governing Morena party to combat violence in the country.
The ease with which the man was able to approach Sheinbaum has also generated opinions and questions about the possibility that he might have been armed and could have caused her further harm.
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