How political polarization informed Mexico’s protests against femicide
Between 2015 and 2024, more than 8,000 women were killed in Mexico because of their gender.
These crimes are referred to as femicides and, unlike homicides, are not the consequence of private or personal disputes. Instead, they are the result of a culture of oppression and domination that historically has targeted women and perpetuated a patriarchal society.
While the number of femicides has decreased in recent years, there has not been any significant decline, and it remains a serious crisis. According to government data, around 10 women and girls across Mexico are killed every day by intimate partners or other family members. Worsening the crisis is Mexico’s systemic impunity, with many crimes going unreported or uninvestigated, and unreliable data masking the true scale of this problem.
As a result, femicides in Mexico have been described as “another pandemic” — one driven by a deeply embedded machismo culture of violence against women, combined with a lack of transparency and justice from the state.
In response to this crisis, protests led by feminist groups have gained increasing attention in recent years. They have urged Mexican society to recognize the severity of this problem and called on authorities to act. However, the polarized political climate in Mexico has undermined the demands of these demonstrations.
Polarization shaped public conversation
My doctoral research focused on examining the political and public discourse surrounding protests against gender-based violence in Mexico. More specifically, my work analysed how polarizing narratives, especially on social media platforms, affected these demonstrations.
In 2020, feminist collectives organized the annual International Women’s Day march alongside a silent strike called #UnDiaSinNosotras (#ADayWithoutUs) in which women abstained from all public activities for an entire day.
While the support for these protests grew, even from conservative groups traditionally opposed to feminist ideals, speculations emerged about the movement being used opportunistically to undermine the left-wing federal government.
Initially, then-president Andrés Manuel López Obrador expressed solidarity with feminist groups. However, after refusing to revise his strategy on femicide, he warned that conservative elements could be infiltrating the protests. This created an unusual scenario where conservative groups backed feminist demands while the left-wing federal government dismissed them.
Such a turbulent political climate raises several questions: Did conservative groups suddenly embrace progressive feminist ideals? Did feminist groups align with conservatives despite historically opposing their ideas? Did the left-wing government adopt conservative positions to counter feminist movements? More importantly, how did this scenario impact the calls of the protests against femicide?
A fluid polarization
Polarization is typically framed as a stark and often stagnant political divisions between two dominant and opposing narratives. However, the interactions produced in scenarios like Mexico’s feminist protests suggest more fluid dynamics.
Rather than a rigid conflict between two opposing sets of ideals, polarization here should been seen as a relationship between narratives that are constantly reshaped and defined by each other.
This can be observed in how the narratives aligned with the federal government and those opposing it demonstrated apparent contradictions based on the other’s positioning regarding the protests.
Red crosses with the Spanish word ‘Justice’ hang on the fence of the National Palace where they were placed by demonstrators holding an event coined a national mourning against femicides in the Zocalo of Mexico City, May 18, 2022.
(AP Photo/Fernando Llano)
Following this, it can be interpreted that conservative groups backed the protests as a way of reinforcing their opposition to the government. Similarly, the left-wing governing party, typically associated with more progressive ideals, appeared as dismissive of the protests and their demands to distance itself from perceived conservative influences.
Viewing polarization this way helps explain how unlikely allies find themselves on the same side of particular issues. In this context, polarization is less about fixed beliefs and values and more about maintaining a distinct identity relative to the opposing side. In essence, polarization becomes an exercises in being as opposed as possible to the other side.
Obscuring social issues
My analysis of social media comments about the protests revealed they centred on two themes: debates on whether the feminist movement was being co-opted by conservative forces and criticism of López Obrador and his administration.
In both cases, the discussions shifted away from the urgent issue of femicides, ignoring the protests’ central calls. Moreover, these conversations reinforced existing political divisions rather than addressing the root problem. This way, the interplay between the narratives involved created a polarized environment in which political rivalries overshadowed meaningful discussion of the structural violence against women.
In other words, polarized dynamics can obscure urgent and immediate social issues, contributing to impunity and a lack of action.
The Mexican political landscape reveals how forms of violence and oppression can be reproduced and reinforced through the interactions happening around them. In this sense, addressing femicides requires not only structural modifications to current strategies but also changing how this issue is discussed.
It’s also essential to recognize how polarization, as a fluid dynamic, shapes the public space. Doing this can provide insights into how meaningful action can happen in the context of today’s social and political debates framed by stark perceived divisions. Läs mer…