The complaint filed by María Felicia Jiménez, the wife of Víctor Rodríguez Padilla, the former director of Mexico’s state-owned oil company Pemex, has shaken the country. The release of a video showing her being beaten by the former official has sparked solidarity, widespread condemnation, and reactions from Claudia Sheinbaum’s government, which has offered her protection and support in pursuing her complaint. But María Felicia Jiménez is just one of millions of women who suffer gender-based violence in Mexico.
According to figures from Mexico’s National Institute of Statistics and Geography (INEGI) and U.N. Women, 63% of women over the age of 15 in Mexico have experienced some form of violence. Sixty percent of these attacks occur within the home and are committed by their partners. This type of violence often goes unreported, as many victims fear speaking out.
The Executive Secretariat of the National Public Security System recently reported that, between January and May 2026, 230,000 emergency calls to 911 were related to incidents of domestic violence nationwide, with six states accounting for half of these calls: Guanajuato, Mexico City, Sonora, Veracruz, Jalisco and Coahuila. Another 104,000 emergency calls were recorded in connection with incidents of intimate partner violence.
María Felicia Jiménez chose to publicly report her case three months after it occurred, explaining that she did so to protect herself from her alleged attacker, Víctor Rodríguez Padilla, whom she describes as “a senior figure in the current government” who could be shielded due to “his closeness to the highest levels of the presidency.” Rodríguez, who was a classmate of Sheinbaum’s at UNAM’s School of Sciences, served as Pemex director from the start of the administration until May, when he was replaced after receiving praise from the president for his work.
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Former Pemex chief Víctor Rodríguez Padilla accused of domestic violence
In response to the complaint, the Ministry for Women — an agency created by President Sheinbaum at the start of her administration — has established contact with her to provide care, guidance, support, and institutional assistance. María Felicia Jiménez has also received expressions of solidarity from Senator Laura Itzel Castillo, who will take over as head of the Ministry for Women in September.
“From the moment I saw the news about what happened to her, I reached out to the acting head and deputy minister for women to be in contact with the victim and support her in her complaint,” the senator wrote in a message on social media. “I express my solidarity and strongly condemn any act of violence against women. In the position I will assume, I will work to ensure that no act of aggression goes unpunished and that access to justice, the protection of women’s rights, and the right to a life free from violence prevail.”
The former Pemex director has also spoken out in recent hours, calling for “discretion and prudence” so as not to affect his children. “I reiterate my full willingness to cooperate with the competent authorities, trusting that institutions will clarify the facts objectively, fairly, and in strict observance of the principle of the presumption of innocence,” he said in a statement.
Rodríguez Padilla, who had been set to take over as head of the National Institute of Electricity and Clean Energy (INEEL), said he has stepped away from any public office to address the case strictly as a private citizen, without interfering in the investigations. The Energy Ministry confirmed that he will not take up the post.
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