I went into town today, and my driver (I don't drive) mentioned that today was dia de las mujeres (Women's Day) here in Mexico. I had never heard of that, not in Europe, the US, or Latin America. We discussed it for a while.
In my mail, was the current issue of Harpers. As usual, I began reading the magazine as soon as I got back home. And as luck would have it, there was an article about Women's Day in Mexico.
As I started reading, I realized that the article is not so much about Women's Day but mostly about "feminicidio" (female homicide). I was aware that this existed but not to the extent described in the article. Horrible, unbelievable, no words to describe the situation. Most of the deaths (according to the article) occur in areas controlled by cartels, close to the US border, an area near Mexico City, and a few other cities. The reason for that is that the waring cartels use the death (murder) of the women (and girls) associated with members of another cartel to pressure them or as part of a "right of passage:" (part of the procedure to become a member of a cartel.)
What most foreigners/ex-pats do not understand is that the cartels act as a sort of shadow government. I read how the government i.e., the President, pooh-poohed the situation, stating that the women (and girls) make up only four percent of the deaths (read murders) here. Last year, that was about 5,000!!! For me, that is unacceptable!
However, there is a movement here referred to as #UnDíaSinNosotras (a day without us) where women are urged to not go to work, not go to school, do nothing in the home. I have no idea how successful this call to inaction is, but it certainly will get some attention.
If you are interested in reading the article (be aware that what is described is very upsetting), go to harpers.org, select the menu item "Current Issue" and scroll down to the article IN HARM'S WAY. I have a subscription, but I think it is possible to read a couple of articles per month for free.
I am most interested to hear your comments, but please keep on topic. If you are so inclined, please share this with your firneds.
Thank you for reading.
~beto