Does López Obrador support the struggle of women?

Olga Sánchez Cordero, Secretary of the Interior criticized misogyny in the Fourth Transformation

MEXICO – The Secretary of the Interior, Olga Sánchez Cordero , is sensitive to machismo in a misogynistic country. So in recent days, she blurted out and publicly complained of discrimination in the security team because of her status as a woman despite the fact that she is the head of Mexico’s internal politics .

Sometimes military and marine; The nation’s police chiefs and attorneys simply ignore it in meetings where decisions are made to confront crime , massacres , and bloodbath . They don’t take it into account, he says, even though their analyzes were sharp, “even if it was contributing something important,” he said.

It is not that they did it “on purpose” (intentional), she added: they simply “do not realize it”, it is not perceptible for them what it is for her. “Micromachismo”, then.

Such as street attitudes, such as “giving a hug” in the Metro, shouting obscene comments, interrupting women in work meetings or qualifying the beauty of a friend based on a number or insulting the couple in public.

Olga Sánchez Cordero said what she had to say in a turbulent scenario that includes the murder of thousands of women for gender reasons, that is: femicides .

According to figures from the Executive Secretariat of the National Public Security System , in 2019 there were 938 cases of femicides and 199,974 emergency calls related to incidents of violence against women.

In previous statements, Olga Sánchez Cordero had spoken about the issue. Alerted about how micro-chauvinisms led to violence and the murder of women and he even drew attention in the media because on some occasions he was criticized for his feminine condition and not for his work.

The battle against the culture of micromachismo is in recent times the main focus of the feminist agenda, as has been stated by the Secretary of the Interior, but it is not for President Andrés Manuel López Obrador . The Mexican president has set his sights on another issue as the main issue to attend to women and that is gender parity in the field of politics and public function.

The order of priorities in the two agendas has opened a gap between feminist groups and the Mexican president.

Feminist in her own way 

On October 20, during his traditional morning conference, the president promised that he would maintain “balance” and the participation of women in his cabinet if, in the last week of October, one of them resigned to seek a candidacy in the elections 2021.

Since his administration started, López Obrador kept his campaign promise to have half of the secretariats of State headed by a woman in recognition of talent beyond gender.

Thus, Sánchez Cordero, former Minister of the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation, graduated in Law from UNAM , with postgraduate studies in Great Britain; a Economics, Graciela Márquez , graduated in Economics from UNAM, teacher from Colegio de México, PhD from Harvard University and member of the National System of Researchers.

To Energía, Norma Rocío Nahle, former deputy, chemical engineer and worker in various areas of Petróleos Mexicanos; to the Secretary of Labor, Luisa María Alcalde , graduated in Law from UNAM, Master in Law from the University of Berkeley and former federal deputy; a Culture, Alejandra Frausto , lawyer and director of various cultural organizations.

To the Environment, Josefa González , lawyer from the Universidad Anáhuac and teacher at the John F. Kennedy University and, to the Ministry of Public Function, the economist Irma Eréndira Sandoval, researcher at the Institute of Social Research and PhD in Political Science from the University of California.

During the current six-year term, gender quotas were also strictly applied in order not to have an imbalance of seats in favor of men and so that laws and reforms and legislative decisions in general remained 50% in the hands of women. Currently Mexico ranks number 16 worldwide for the number of women in government positions, according to the federal authority

Senator Citlalli Hernández  recognizes that her seat benefits from this attitude and from there laws have been promoted in favor of women such as responsible parenthood or those that sanction the dissemination of intimate images that mainly harmed them. “The world and Mexico have to get used to no longer seeing high places of power without women and that is not a fad, it is the result of historical struggles.”

Political analyst Abraham Mendieta agrees. “It is true that women in the federal government, the Legislative Power and in the leadership of Morena have been empowered: previously what was done was a lot of simulation in the other parties.”

During the previous six-year term, for example, the cabinet of President Enrique Peña Nieto had only three women among the 24 state secretariats: Rosario Robles, in Social Development; Mercedes Juan López, in Health and Claudia Ruiz Massieu, in Tourism, which represented 12.5% ​​of the total.

On the cabinet issue, progress was made, but there are still significant political lags. In Mexico there has never been a president of the Republic and in the last 32 years there have only been 30 secretaries of State (with the eight added by AMLO) and only seven governors, in addition to the fact that in the municipalities their participation does not reach even 1% of participation.

The stragglers 

The increase in participation in public life has given the president who promised a “Fourth Transformation” in the public life of the country recognition by partisan feminists of the political agenda. But there are still many pending that other women’s groups throw at her in rallies and forums.

Among other things, they continue to reproach her for the insecurity and violence against women in public and private spaces; the absence of gender equity within the curricula where children are taught about equality, rights, sexual choices, sexual health, diversity and respect .

The lack of justice for femicides, domestic and public violence and human trafficking; the lack of reliable public ministries and the lack of sensitivity with some statements in which the figures for death due to gender and violence against women have been questioned.

Some of the president’s responses to these requests and other matters have been interpreted as “sexist” considering that women are like “service personnel” in charge of caring for infants, the sick and the elderly.

At the press conference “From speeches to events” to analyze the Second Report of the AMLO Government, activists from various organizations criticized that the 4T had requested “without justification” an extension to deliver its report to the international Committee for the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, which reflects “their lack of preparation on the subject.”

They also criticized that the president used 58% of a fund for women’s equality from the Federation’s Expenditure Budget to deliver them directly and at his discretion. “It only gave 0.3% for shelters to battered women, 0.13% for sexual and reproductive health issues and only 0.08 percent for the Houses of Indigenous or Afro-Mexican Women .”

From his trench and with a parallel agenda, some of his secretaries of state whom he has empowered have had to come to his defense and explain the context of the statements or justify some sayings. “The president’s agenda is totally pro-woman,” said Tatina Cloutier, who supported him since the campaign with the agenda.

Olga Sánchez Cordero, for her part, has asked for patience for the president. “Little by little it will give results,” he says. “Women are closer than ever to claiming their rights.”

But the promises are still in the air.