Mexico President Sheinbaum presses charges against man who groped her on the street
Mexico President Sheinbaum presses charges after street groping incident
Sheinbaum said she felt a responsibility to press charges for all Mexican women. “If this is done to the president, what is going to happen to all of the young women in our country?”
LOS ANGELES - In an incident that has become a national symbol of the harassment women face daily, a video captured a drunk man groping President Claudia Sheinbaum during a brief walk in Mexico City.
Sheinbaum is now leveraging the incident to push for nationwide legal and procedural reforms to combat widespread gender violence and impunity.
What we know:
The incident occurred while President Sheinbaum was taking a five-minute walk from Mexico's National Palace to the Education Ministry to avoid a 20-minute car ride in city traffic.
The man involved was arrested overnight, as announced by Mexico City Mayor Clara Brugada.
On Wednesday, President Sheinbaum announced she had pressed charges against the man.
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Sheinbaum has also called on all mexican states to scrutinize their laws and procedures to make it easier for women to report assaults.
The president dismissed suggestions to increase her security, stating she would not change how she interacts with people.
What they're saying:
President Sheinbaum emphasized her personal and political responsibility to act.
"If this is done to the president, what is going to happen to all of the young women in our country?" "I decided to press charges because this is something that I experienced as a woman, but that we as women experience in our country," she said.
She also stated that Mexicans need to hear a "loud and clear, no, women’s personal space must not be violated."
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Brugada linked the assault to the broader commitment to women's rights, referencing Sheinbaum's election:
"Not a slogan, it’s a commitment to not look the other way, to not allow misogyny to continue to be veiled in habits, to not accept a single additional humiliation, not another abuse, not a single femicide more," she said.
Andrea González Martínez, 27, a worker for Nacional Monte de Piedad, said of harassment: "it happens regularly, it happens on public transportation. it’s something you experience every day in Mexico."
Carmen Maldonado Castillo, 43, her coworker, said: "You can’t walk around free in the street."
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Manuel Pérez Aguirre, a political scientist, argued that the case must have a "truly exemplary punishment" that serves as a clear message to sexual aggressors in Mexico."
Big picture view:
The incident brought national attention to the high rate of street harassment and gender violence in Mexico, a problem Sheinbaum said she understands firsthand, having experienced harassment herself at age 12.
A World Health Organization report revealed that one in three women in the Americas has experienced physical or sexual violence from a partner or a third party.
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Marina Reyna, executive director of the Guerrero Association Against Violence Toward Women, estimated impunity for violence suffered by Mexican women at over 70%.
From 2019 to 2024, only 20% to 30% of women experiencing violence in Mexico and several other Latin American countries used state services specifically designed for them, according to a report by the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) on femicide in the region.
According to figures from the Federal Security Secretariat, cases of femicide in Mexico dropped almost 40% in the first seven months of this year, compared to the same period in 2024.
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Intentional injuries against women decreased by 11% in the same period.
What's next:
President Sheinbaum has called for states to scrutinize their laws and procedures to simplify the process for women to report assaults.
Attention is now focused on whether her actions and political will result in substantial legal and police protocol changes across the country.
The Source: This article is based on direct quotes from President Claudia Sheinbaum's daily press briefing on Wednesday regarding her decision to press charges, confirmed information from Mexico City Mayor Clara Brugada about the man's arrest, and on-the-ground interviews with Mexican women (Andrea González Martínez and Carmen Maldonado Castillo). The broader context is supported by official data from the Federal Security Secretariat on crime statistics and reports from international bodies including the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC). The Associated Press contributed.