Thousands of Women Fed Up with Patriarchal Oppression Demonstrated in the Streets on #25N, Mexico

December 9, 2019 | revcom.us

 

Editors note: The following, from Aurora Roja, the blog of the Revolutionary Communist Organization, Mexico, was translated by revcom.us.

Women, with lots of enthusiasm and many of them enraged, demonstrated on November 25 [#25N] with their actions and their voices of just struggle against patriarchal relations and outlooks that in this country [Mexico]—as in the world—are tightening the chains of oppression. In Mexico City, according to the organizers, about 6,500 people marched from the Ángel de la Independencia to the Zócalo [downtown main plaza], and the protests this year became stronger and more radical, proclaiming themselves “against sexist violence and capitalism.” There were also mobilizations in several states—such as Chihuahua, Guerrero, Oaxaca, the state of Mexico, Tamaulipas, Chiapas, Hidalgo, Nayarit, and Querétaro—as well as in many other countries around the world, within the framework of the day designated by the United Nations (UN) as the “International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women.”

“Not one more, not one more, not one more woman murdered!” was heard loudly in the streets. “We are the cry of those women who are no longer here” could be seen on some banners. This rebellion is justified, because the situation is truly critical, with 10 women murdered daily in Mexico. Thousands of women, mostly young, protested against this whole brutal situation that they live every day almost anywhere they are.

“We women are not all here, but we are not alone” read other banners. And that is real, faced with the nine young women who are abducted daily in Mexico. But there may be many more, because both in cases of femicide and forced disappearances, family members often do not report them for fear of reprisals, either from the perpetrators or the authorities who cover up for them.

And so you could hear the slogans “It must be aborted, it must be aborted, the patriarchal state must be aborted.” It is right to single out the state as guilty, because in several cases its repressive forces commit these crimes, and its institutions protect the guilty. For example, the recent case of María Isabel Carrión: According to her sister, who was among the relatives of the victims of femicide in the march, her husband “killed her on June 23, 2019, but was released on August 8 because they took him to trial for small-scale drug trafficking and not for femicide.”

Communists and revolutionaries complemented the chant that “the state must be aborted,” chanting “We must overthrow, we must overthrow, we must overthrow this patriarchal system!” Because the patriarchal capitalist system is the fundamental problem. It must be ripped up at the root, and that possibility is only possible with communist revolution. As expressed in another slogan of the Revolutionary People’s Movement contingent: “The oppression of women, in capitalism, has no solution! The only way out is revolution!”

The fury of young women could not be completely contained, despite the actions of the police. Many young women knocked down police barricades to paint graffiti and smash advertising displays, and other women and men participating in the march showed some support for this anger and fury. In the streets near the Zócalo, several people, both women and men, gathered in support until the end as the march passed by. There, our contingent chanted slogans and handed out more flyers, while many people chanted along with us. Many enthusiastically received the flyer, Do we let the world go on as it is and worse, or do we make revolution to emancipate humanity? from the Revolutionary Communist Organization, Mexico. Despite the presence and threats of repression from thousands of police officers—both male and female, people were not intimidated and most came to the Zócalo to hear the “National Emergency” call due to the increase in femicides and sexual harassment. On behalf of the organizing organizations (the Autonomous and Independent Assembly and the Metropolitan Feminist Assembly, among others), it was stated that “They kill us, they rape us, they rob us, they exploit us, they harass us, and the institutions that should really defend and protect us are faithful to patriarchy and only simulate, re-victimize and maintain complicit silence and murderous impunity.”

It really was a night of festivity and hate that busted out from thousands of women!

Banner: “November 25: International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women. Not One More Women Murdered. Against Violence…”

The revolutionary contingent on #25N, Mexico City. Banner: “Unleash the fury of women as a mighty force for revolution!”