Mexico President Sheinbaum presses charges after being groped on streets: ‘No man has the right to violate …’

At her daily press briefing Wednesday, Sheinbaum said she filed charges because the incident represented a wider pattern of violence against women. “If this is done to the President, what is going to happen to all of the young women in our country?” she said. She called on state governments to strengthen laws and reporting systems to help women file complaints easily.

Sheinbaum said she had experienced harassment before, including as a student, and would not increase her security or change how she moves through public spaces. “No man has the right to violate that space,” she said.

‘Assault on all women’

Brugada said the assault on the president was an assault on all women. She cited Sheinbaum’s election remarks that her victory marked a collective step forward for women in Mexico. “That is a commitment to not look the other way, to not allow misogyny to continue, to not accept another abuse or femicide,” Brugada said.

The incident has renewed focus on everyday harassment faced by women in Mexico, reports AP. Andrea Gonzalez, 27, who works for a lending institution, said she had been followed home after being harassed on public transport. “It’s something you experience every day in Mexico,” she said. Her colleague, Carmen Maldonado, 43, said such experiences are common. “You can’t walk around freely on streets,” she added.

Call for systemic change

Marina Reyna, director of the Guerrero Association Against Violence Toward Women, said the president’s decision to press charges could push institutions to act more decisively. “People stop reporting because nothing happens,” she said.

According to the Federal Security Secretariat, femicide cases in Mexico fell by nearly 40% in the first seven months of 2025 compared with the same period in 2024, while intentional injuries against women dropped 11%. A report by the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean found that between 2019 and 2024, only 20% to 30% of women in Mexico and other Latin American countries who experienced violence used government services.

Political scientist Manuel Pérez Aguirre from the College of Mexico said the case required an exemplary punishment to deter future assaults.

Sheinbaum said she would continue walking through the streets as before. “We walked because it saves time,” she said. “I won’t change how I act.”

(with inputs from AP)

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