2LT International News

MEXICO CITY, Mexico: President Claudia Sheinbaum said at her daily press briefing that she has filed charges against a drunk man who groped her during a walk from Mexico’s National Palace to the Education Ministry earlier this week.

Sheinbaum urged state authorities to strengthen laws and reporting systems for sexual harassment, saying women’s personal space must be respected.

She added that she pursued charges for all women in Mexico: “If this is done to the president, what is going to happen to young women in our country?”

Mexico City Mayor Clara Brugada had announced overnight that the man had been arrested. She emphasized that targeting Mexico’s first woman president is an attack on all women, echoing Sheinbaum’s own message when she was elected.

The incident, which was captured on video and widely shared online, turned what should have been a short walk into a disturbing public moment.

Women who commute daily on public transportation say harassment is common. Andrea González Martínez, 27, said she has been harassed multiple times, including once by a man who followed her home. Her colleague Carmen Maldonado Castillo, 43, said street harassment is a constant presence: “You can’t walk around free in the street.”

Sheinbaum noted that she herself experienced harassment as a teenager taking public transit to school, and acknowledged that the problem is widespread. She dismissed concerns about tightening her security, explaining the walk was meant to avoid traffic.

A recent World Health Organization study found that one in three women in the Americas has faced physical or sexual violence. In Mexico, cases of femicide dropped nearly 40 percent in the first seven months of this year compared to 2024, while intentional injuries against women fell by 11 percent, according to federal data.

Manuel Pérez Aguirre, a political scientist with the College of Mexico, said the suspect should face a substantial penalty to send a clear message against sexual aggression in the country.