Names of femicide victims painted on Mexican National Palace fence
Near the front of the colonial-era building that serves as the president's offices, activists wrote: "Victims of Femicide" in huge letters across the top of the barriers, with the names under.
The names of women victimised by violence were painted on metal barriers hastily erected around Mexico's national palace late on Saturday, ahead of a major women's march as activists turned the fencing into a makeshift billboard for their movement.
Near the front of the colonial-era building that serves as the president's offices, activists wrote: "Victims of Femicide" in huge letters across the top of the barriers, with the names of many women scrawled underneath.
A day earlier, President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador described the barrier as a needed tool to avoid provocation and protect the historic building from vandalism ahead of Monday's planned march on International Women's Day.
Friday: Authorities put up metal walls around the National Palace in Mexico City ahead of Mondays International Women's Day protests.
— Carin Zissis (@CarinZissis) March 7, 2021
Saturday: Activists cover the walls with the names of dozens of femicide victims.#8M2021 #NiUnaMenos https://t.co/JqKdntvRYS
On Sunday, the leftist leader insisted that he had always believed in equality in a video he posted on social media, in which he also lashed out at those he described as conservative critics who aim to attack his government.
"I'm not a male chauvinist. I'm in favor of the rights of women," he said, pledging never to repress the free assembly of protesters.
#Mexico Police have opened fire on protesters who were demonstrating & demanding justice for the femicide of Bianca Alexis in Cancun. At least 4 journalists were injured, 2 with bullet wounds. 😡 https://t.co/E9sJgkeQ9n
— Voices in Movement (@VIM_Media) November 10, 2020
Similar metallic barriers were erected around the nearby orange-domed Fine Arts Palace, including its towering bronze sculptures, as city officials announced plans to deploy police downtown to protect marchers as well as the monuments, including some 2,000 female police officers.
Meanwhile —> Mexico’s President Says 90% Of Domestic Violence Calls Are ‘Fake’ https://t.co/6J9xu34zlz
— Hayes Brown (@HayesBrown) May 31, 2020
"Our struggle has names," Marisol Clava, an academic, wrote in a post on Twitter, along with photos of the names written on the national palace barriers.
Last year, at least 939 women were victims of femicide, the term used for homicides that deliberately target women, according to government data.