Mexico president files charges after groping incident
Mexico’s first female president, Claudia Sheinbaum, has filed a criminal complaint after being groped by a man while greeting supporters in Mexico City — and is now calling for sexual harassment to be made a crime in all 32 Mexican states.
The 63-year-old president said the attacker, reportedly intoxicated, touched her hip and chest and tried to kiss her neck during the encounter near the National Palace. Video footage shows Sheinbaum pushing the man away before her staff intervened. The suspect was later arrested, News.Az reports, citing Al Jazeera.
“If this happens to the president, what will happen to all the women in our country?” Sheinbaum said at her morning press conference.
In a social media post, Sheinbaum stressed that her experience reflects what “many women face daily” and vowed to review state legislation so harassment becomes a punishable offense nationwide.
Currently, not all Mexican states recognize sexual harassment as a criminal act — something Sheinbaum says must change immediately.
The incident has reignited debate about Mexico’s deep-rooted gender violence problem, with UN data showing that 10 women are murdered every day and that 70% of Mexican women have faced some form of sexual harassment.
Despite criticism of her security team, Sheinbaum said she won’t increase her personal protection or distance herself from the public, insisting that “women’s personal space must not be violated — ever.”
The attack has since sparked a broader conversation about women’s safety and accountability in a country grappling with a persistent femicide crisis.
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