The brutal repression against feminist demonstrators who were protesting against the wave of femicides in Irapuato this Sunday is one more example of the absence of a comprehensive policy to curb misogynistic violence in the country. Worse yet, it is further evidence of the government’s strategy of resorting to police and judicial abuse to suffocate the protests. Preventing harassment, femicide and disappearances is not a priority. The authorities seem to believe that they can continue to “manage” criminal violence by manipulating figures and stigmatizing protest without major consequences. They bet on sowing fear and fatigue in the victims, their families and the population in general, in a sinister “pedagogy of violence” that would end up paralyzing and silencing everyone.
If it is already evident that denying the problem of common and disorganized crime and leaving thousands of disappearances, femicides and rapes unpunished has favored the expansion of these crimes and, therefore, complicates and will further complicate stopping and eradicating them, the responsibility of state and federal authorities includes the disastrous corrosion of the daily life of the population, of that “people” to which the official discourse alludes so much. The crimes affect the direct victims and their families; they upset entire communities that do know what is happening around them and feel fear: fear that their daughters will be “taken away,” that they will be raped if they go out alone, that they will be killed if they go to a party.
Instead of sending a message of strength and calm, accompanied by forceful actions, effective and transparent justice, educational policies that contribute to changing mentalities and eradicating stereotypes, what are governments doing – of all colors? They stigmatize the victims, their friends and/or relatives, with the support of the media, as is happening now with the Debanhi femicide or what happened before with Ingrid Escamilla, or with Mile Virginia Martín; they justify police abuse with despicable arguments like now in Irapuato, and before in Mexico City and Cancun; they bet that the “well-thinking” society will be outraged by the impudence of the protesters and the others will soon forget, overwhelmed by new terrifying news.
In Guanajuato, femicide, disappearance and extortion have increased since 2015, when there were already signs of the entry of organized crime, which perhaps could have been stopped if the authorities had recognized it. In Irapuato, the legitimate protest against femicide has been preceded by others, without response. Femicide is not only derived from the impunity of organized crime, it is also due to common criminals, partners and acquaintances, who act with greater viciousness in the climate of extreme violence with impunity: the murder will already be classified as “culpable homicide” or ” suicide” or it will be attributed to CO and nothing will happen. The simulation policy from the state prosecutor’s office and other government agencies is responsible for the pain and fear of families and communities that cannot defend themselves. That is what the state is for.
The shameful response of the “gender police” of Irapuato against demonstrators and girls who just passed by is not simply a “product of the PAN”, although the lack of alternation in that state may have contributed to the criminal inertia of the authorities. It is necessary that there be justice for the victims and the aggressor authorities be punished, from the police, the mayor and the state prosecutor’s office that detained the detained, humiliated and beaten.
It is also necessary to recognize that this is a structural problem of Guanajuato and the country, not to diffuse responsibilities, but to demand a radical change in Mexico. Young feminists, fed up with violence, have dared to raise their voices. Where are, for example, the businessmen of Guanajuato and Nuevo León? Are they willing to live in a country where girls and women are killed and disappeared with impunity?
culture criticism
transmutations
She is a professor of literature and gender and cultural criticism. She holds a doctorate in Latin American literature from the University of Chicago (1996), a master’s degree in history from the same university (1988) and a bachelor’s degree in social sciences (ITAM, 1986).