Analysis on social movements.

Social movement

The feminist movement in Mexico

In an interview with Milenio, Margarita Mantilla Chávez, a teacher in Women's Studies at the Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana (UAM), defines feminism as “a political and social movement that involves raising awareness of women as a group, against the oppression, sexual violence, subordination and exploitation, which seeks equal conditions of rights and opportunities for women in relation to men, as well as fair social conditions for both sectors. It is not a radical group that seeks to divide or promote hatred towards the masculine gender, ”he explained. 

Context

As violence in the country increases, the number of femicides, that is, the murder of girls and women because of their gender, has also escalated. In 2019, the Mexican authorities registered 1,006 such murders, 10 percent more than the previous year.

The number of femicides committed daily has not stopped despite the coronavirus, an average of between 10 and 11 women murdered every 24 hours remains, and from January to last Tuesday, April 21, there are 63,000 women victims of violence registered in Mexico.

This was warned in the virtual national forum "Fight against femicide, 8 years after its incorporation into the justice system: experiences and challenges" magistrates of various entities, legislators and civil organizations when defending the permanence of the criminal type of that crime in Mexico, and its approval in the 32 entities.

Deputy Lorena Villavicencio Ayala (Morena), coordinator of the Subcommittee on Attention to Feminicides of the Justice Commission of the Chamber of Deputies, warned that the pandemic has not removed women from the clutches of violence.

The anguish and terror of these spread inside their homes and “we maintain the average of 10 and 11 daily femicides, plus emergency calls increased 60%. In January and February there were 185 thousand calls (but an) increase of 60% these days ”.

The magistrate of the 7th Collegiate Court in Criminal Matters, Lilia Mónica López Benítez, warned that violence grows exponentially so that the Ministry of Security and Citizen Protection reported 890 femicides last year but the National Bank of Data and Information on Cases of violence, registered until April 21 563 thousand 199 electronic files with the same number of victims.
In just over three months, from January 9 to April 21, 2020, 63,000 new victims of violence were registered, so I've called for stopping violence with the application of clear laws, and the application of justice with perspective gender and education inequality.

Place

The last two feminist movements that were carried out in Mexico were the # 8M march in Mexico City, and some States of the Republic and the Women's Strike under the slogan The nine nobody moves equally in the whole country.

   

Date

The March took place on March 8 and the strike on March 9 of the current year.

Historical data

In Mexico, the feminist movement emerged in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries as a result of social disadvantages and inequalities vis-à-vis men, who at that time was much more marked than today.

Likewise, Mantilla Chávez narrates how it is that in December 1916, a first feminist movement occurred in Yucatan, when two congresses were held, led mainly by teachers and middle-class women, who sought to create consensus around educational and social reforms.

After that first congress in Mérida, others followed in the 1920s and 1930s in which, in addition to discussing labor rights, women's right to vote was put on the table

In this way, groups such as the United Front for the Rights of Women or the Mexican Athenaeum for Women were formed that sought to generate an intellectual space for women. In both movements the term "feminism" was rejected.

Finally, in 1953, the reforms to the constitution were approved with which women had the right to vote.

Thanks to young university students, the movement intensified in 1980, so that "the new demands were related to the body, sexuality, abortion, and free expression"

Process of deindividualization

This could be seen in the March 8 March, where acts of vandalism were committed, where many women in less damage painted monuments and broke windows, here there were only material losses. Some others attacked some police officers, but the majority of the female police officers showed support and solidarity with the protesters. The act of greatest outrage was the robbery of a clothing store in the city center, where they assaulted sellers to get the goods out. Despite the fact that the saleswoman of the store that the thieves were not part of the march were outsiders, and that even the protesters helped her, nothing concrete was reached.

Progress or results from the movement.

The objectives for which the march was carried out were many, but the main one was to raise awareness of the violence that exists against women in Mexico, demand that the government takes greater security measures on the streets to eradicate femicides, allow women decide what to do with your body and above all that no man who violated women went unpunished.
Unfortunately, not much of this was accomplished as the number of femicides in the country increases day by day. Just as violence does not stop, even macho acts continue to normalize where denigrating women in Mexican culture.
The president has also been asked to support the initiatives, but he only shows indifference and passivity, because even in the last morning reports he has commented that it is not true that femicides and violence against women increase, but the data provided by his own political party are others.
I consider that the greatest result is that some men in the country became somewhat aware of the issue, and those world organizations such as the UN will note the seriousness of the situation in the country, as the same organization asked the government to criminalize femicide. 

Reflexion 

What did I learn? 

I have learned that social movements have great weight in our country because they are ways to change injustices and demand rights. That to be considered social movements, solid structures and a lot of organization are needed to achieve the objectives, as well as that the process of deindividualization is notable in many opposition groups.

How is this going to be useful? 

Being useful when I meet people who still do not understand the importance of social movements, I can explain how they generate many changes.

What do I need to improve? 

Better understand social cognition as well as theories of intergroup behavior

Was it easy or difficult? 

It is a little difficult because it is a very broad topic

Bibliography

Infobae. (2020, March 8). The origins of feminism in Mexico: how and where the movement emerged. Retrieved May 15, 2020, from https://www.infobae.com/america/mexico/2020/03/08/los-origenes-del-feminismo-en-mexico-como-y-donde-surgio-el- movement/
nodal. (2020, April 24). Mexico: 163 femicides have already been registered during the quarantine. Retrieved May 15, 2020, from https://www.nodal.am/2020/04/mexico-ya-se-registran-163-feminicidios-durante-la-cuarentena/