A man who inappropriately touched President Claudia Sheinbaum while she was walking in the historic center of Mexico City on Tuesday was arrested, authorities have announced.
On her way to the Ministry of Public Education (SEP) from the National Palace, Sheinbaum stopped in a crowded downtown street to interact with supporters.
Video footage shows that an apparently inebriated man approached her, put his arm around her, leaned in to try and kiss her on the cheek or neck, and placed his hands near or on her breasts.
Sheinbaum gently removed the man’s hands before a presidential aide moved in to assist her. The president subsequently patted the man on his back and said to him: “No te preocupes,” or “don’t worry.”
The man who touched the president was identified as Uriel Rivera Martínez. The 33-year-old was arrested in the historic center of Mexico City on Tuesday, the capital’s Security Ministry (SSC) said in a statement. Rivera allegedly assaulted two other women in downtown Mexico City on Tuesday, according to the SSC.
In its statement, the Security Ministry said that the man detained “is probably related to the assault committed against the president of Mexico, Doctor Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo, while she was walking in the streets of the historic center.”
The SSC said that the suspect was turned over to the Mexico City Attorney General’s Office (FGJ), which will “determine his legal situation and continue with the investigations.”
Rivera was being held at a sex crimes division of the FGJ after his arrest at 9 p.m. Tuesday, according to a federal government arrest registry document.
Sheinbaum addresses ‘regrettable episode’
At her Wednesday morning press conference, Sheinbaum spoke about what she described as a “regrettable episode” she experienced while walking from the National Palace to the nearby Ministry of Public Education.
“Why did I walk? Because it’s shorter, there’s no other explanation,” she said.
Sheinbaum said that she would have arrived late to a meeting at the SEP if she went by car, and she consequently decided to walk with a group of aides.
“Many people greeted us along the way, [there was] no problem, until this completely drunk person came up, and that’s when I experienced this incident of harassment,” she said.
Sheinbaum noted that she was speaking to other people when the incident occurred and consequently didn’t immediately realize what was happening. She said that she became fully aware of what “really happened” only after watching videos of the incident.
“I obviously felt the closeness of this person who was there and who, I repeat, was completely drunk; I don’t know if he was on drugs [as well],” she said.
‘It’s something that shouldn’t happen in our country’
Sheinbaum said that she decided to file a formal complaint with the Mexico City Attorney General’s Office as “this is something I experienced as a woman” and which other women in Mexico experience as well.
“I’ve experienced it before, when I wasn’t president, when I was a student, a young person,” she said.
“… It’s a crime in Mexico City,” Sheinbaum said, referring to inappropriate touching.
“It’s not a crime in all states of the republic, but in Mexico City it is,” she said.
“And my reflection is: If I don’t present a criminal complaint, … what position does that leave … [other] Mexican women in? If this is done to the president, what will happen with all the young women in our country?”
Sheinbaum noted that the man who touched her is accused of sexually harassing other women on Tuesday. She also acknowledged that he was detained.
“It’s something that shouldn’t happen in our country, and I don’t say that as president but as a woman and in representation of Mexican women,” Sheinbaum said.
La presidenta Claudia Sheinbaum presentó una denuncia penal ante el acoso sufrido en el Centro Histórico por un hombre alcoholizado. Dijo que la puso en defensa de todas las mujeres y lamentó que Reforma haya publicado las fotos, medio del cual espera una disculpa pública. pic.twitter.com/cCj1a4MQuM
— JorgeArmandoRocha (@JorgeArmandoR_) November 5, 2025
“It mustn’t occur. No one can violate our personal space, nobody. … No man has the right to violate that space, the only way is under the approval of the woman. So, that can’t occur,” she said.
Sexual assault and harassment, including groping and acts of exhibitionism by men, are common in Mexico, including in public places and on public transport.
According to national statistics agency INEGI, 48% of Mexican women aged 15 and older have been victims of some kind of sexual violence. If female victims of physical and psychological violence are included, the figure increases to above 70%.
Government to review sexual harassment laws and launch anti-harassment campaign
Sheinbaum said that she had asked her Minister for Women, Citlalli Hernández Mora, to lead a review of laws to determine whether inappropriate touching and other forms of sexual assault and harassment are classed as crimes in “all states” of Mexico.
“It should be a punishable criminal offense,” she said.
Sheinbaum also said that the government would carry out an anti-harassment campaign, “not related to the president, but … [for] all Mexican women.”
“There has to be respect for women in all senses,” she said.
“… It’s important that we make visible something that a lot of women experience throughout our lives,” Sheinbaum said regarding to the proposed anti-harassment campaign.
The Ministry of Women released a statement on Tuesday condemning the incident Sheinbaum experienced in the historic center of Mexico City.
Pronunciamiento
Las violencias que vivimos las mujeres provienen de la normalización que tienen algunos hombres acerca de la irrupción a nuestro espacio personal y/o a nuestro cuerpo; son resultado de décadas de una visión machista.
El acoso, el hostigamiento, el abuso y… pic.twitter.com/ViHg8evNHm
— Citlalli Hernández Mora (@CitlaHM) November 5, 2025
“Unfortunately, no woman is exempt from experiencing sexual harassment in our country [and] that’s why we work daily to combat it,” the statement said.
“… This kind of violence can’t be trivialized. On the contrary, reporting it is fundamental in order to achieve justice and contribute to cultural change,” the ministry said.
“… We reiterate our commitment to continue working daily and to strengthening women’s rights, as well as to eliminating the … machismo and violence we face every day,” said the statement endorsed by Hernández and state-based ministers for women from across Mexico.
Sheinbaum vows to stay close to ‘the people’
The fact that a man was able to easily approach the president and touch her inappropriately raises serious security concerns in a country where large numbers of politicians have been killed, primarily at the municipal level, as was the case with the assassination of the mayor of Uruapan, Michoacán, last Saturday.
Sheinbaum, like her predecessor and political mentor Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO), is happy to get up close and personal with her supporters — she’ll kiss babies, high-five kids, hug grandmothers.
On Wednesday morning, she declared that “we’re not going to change the way we are.”
“We can’t distance ourselves from the people. That would be to deny where we come from and who we are,” Sheinbaum said.
As was the case with AMLO, presidential aides that belong to a team called the Ayudantía and who are not necessarily security professionals are responsible for Sheinbaum’s security.
The president said that will continue to be the case, before reiterating that “we have to be close to the people.”
She said that there was “no known risk” to her safety or that of other members of her government.
“If there is a risk, obviously the security cabinet informs us, but there is no threat against us,” Sheinbaum said.
“So, we’re going to continue as we have been doing until now. … I’m not thinking about increasing my security.”
Sheinbaum accuses CDMX newspaper of ‘revictimization’
Sheinbaum asserted that “the use” of images of the assault she suffered on Tuesday is also a “crime.”
“… There are things that have limits, and in particular I think that the photos that appear in the Reforma newspaper [constitute] a matter of revictimization,” she said.
Reforma, a Mexico City broadsheet, published two photos of Rivera and Sheinbaum on the front page of its Wednesday edition. One showed the aggressor with his hands on or near Sheinbaum’s breasts and the other showed him attempting to kiss the president.
Sheinbaum accused Reforma of lacking ethics and morality, but said she wouldn’t personally take action against the newspaper, which was a favorite punching bag of López Obrador.
“There are limits for everything. So we have to say it, call it out,” she said.
“And yes I would be expecting at least an apology from the newspaper,” Sheinbaum said.
By Mexico News Daily chief staff writer Peter Davies (peter.davies@mexiconewsdaily.com)
