Human Rights In Mexico

Mexico is a wonderful country, but like all nation-states in the world right now, it struggles with its own issues around human rights. A major issue of human rights within Mexico includes femicides. Femicides, as defined by the World Health Organization, is the "intentional murder of women because they are women." It is a specified type of violence due to its roots in the oppression of women to instill domination, control, and power. Activists and the people of Mexico have long been fighting to have the issue recognized and solutions brought to the table. In 2020, the National Women's Institute lost 75 % of its operational funding- about $151millionMXN, as many streams of funding for organizations and public services faced cuts during the COVID-19 pandemic. On March 9th 2021, protests against femicide, and to bring more attention to the issue, were then met with another issue of Human Rights in Mexico: Police Brutality.

Police brutality has a long history in most countries and Mexico is no exception. Scenes reminiscint to the George Floyd case here in the United States were drawn in Mexico over the murder of Victoria Salazar. Salazar was a Salvadorian immigrant living in Tulum who died of a broken neck after officers held her to the ground with a knee in her neck. Central and South Americans face a lot of discrimination and issues in Mexico as well and are frequently targeted by others (including police) for bribes, ransoms, and violence. Mexican police forces are famous for their corruption, brutality, and their ties to organized crime. Examples include the treatment of anti-police brutality protestors in 2020; "Protests erupted in the state capital, Guadalajara, and across the country. Protesters broke down the doors of the state capitol building, torched police cars, and set fire to a police officer. In response, plainclothes officers in unmarked pickup trucks armed with sticks and baseball bats threatened and detained protesters. A representative from the Guadalajara human rights group Justice Center for Peace and Development (Centro de Justicia para la Paz y el Desarrollo) told Human Rights Watch that the plainclothes police officers forced protesters into the backs of trucks and vans and abandoned them in a rural area outside the city. Protesters later told reporters that the officers beat them until they lost consciousness."