\n<\/p>\n
Insights from the Wilson Center, Le Monde, Justice in Mexico, Context News<\/p>\n
Mexico\u2019s President-elect Claudia Sheinbaum<\/a><\/span><\/span> is the country\u2019s first female leader. When she officially takes office in October, a potential top priority on her agenda could be Mexico\u2019s ongoing crisis of violence, particularly against women.<\/p>\n Women are better represented in Mexican politics now than at any time in living memory, thanks in part to a constitutional amendment <\/a>that mandates gender parity in candidacy nominations. But some 10 women and girls are estimated to be killed<\/a> every day in Mexico, many by their intimate partners or family members, according to government data. And on Tuesday, a Mexican mayor, Yolanda S\u00e1nchez<\/a> of Cotija city, was killed by gunmen.<\/p>\n The militarization<\/a> of public security under President Andr\u00e9s Manuel L\u00f3pez Obrador \u2014 which Sheinbaum, as Obrador\u2019s protege, may continue \u2014 has put women and girls in danger, The Wilson Center\u2019s Mexico Institute has argued. Women detained by the military are at risk of violence, and in particular, sexual violence: The military \u201chave license to do whatever they want with you<\/a>,\u201d one woman from Zacatecas, a state in central Mexico, told The International Crisis Group.<\/p>\n In 2022, the Mexican government reported the killings of some 3,537 women, one-quarter of which were classified as femicide, or murders targeting women in particular, according to Human Rights Watch. Activists say femicides often fail to be recognized and prosecuted as such, or indeed at all: \u201cThese crimes continue to happen because there is impunity<\/a>\u201d, a family member of a murdered woman told NBC News in 2022. If convictions are sought, the potential punishments vary across Mexico\u2019s 32 states, and there is no uniform<\/a> definition of femicide, hampering the ability to tackle the problem nationwide, said Justice in Mexico.<\/p>\n Sheinbaum\u2019s predecessor L\u00f3pez Obrador was dubbed \u201cAmloMachisa<\/a>\u201d, or \u201csexist AMLO\u201d by some critics, and he even suggested criticism of his leadership<\/a> was a form of gender-based violence against men. But Sheinbaum represents a more modern and progressive<\/a> left-wing than L\u00f3pez Obrador, one political scientist told Le Monde. That she is also a woman could mean she is also more sensitive to gender-based violence, which might help \u201cmove the needle<\/a>\u201d on policies to protect women, a public policy analyst told Axios. But Sheinbaum\u2019s presidential manifesto ultimately focused on issues that matter to men<\/a>, a professor of gender and democracy told Context, perhaps in order to shore up more conservative support.<\/p>\n<\/div>\nSIGNALS<\/h3>\n
Mexico\u2019s militarisation may be part of the problem<\/h3>\n
Women and girls are targeted \u2018with impunity\u2019<\/h3>\n
Sheinbaum may be more sensitive to issues of gender-based violence – or not<\/h3>\n