Medya News
Subscribe
  • Home
  • All News
  • Opinion
  • Kurdistan
  • Women
  • Politics
  • Human Rights
  • More
    • Audio Articles
    • Economy
    • Culture & Art
    • Ecology
    • Newsletter
    • Daily Review
Youtube
PODCAST
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • All News
  • Opinion
  • Kurdistan
  • Women
  • Politics
  • Human Rights
  • More
    • Audio Articles
    • Economy
    • Culture & Art
    • Ecology
    • Newsletter
    • Daily Review
Youtube
PODCAST
No Result
View All Result
Medya News

The murder of Victoria Esperanza Salazar and women’s struggles to end femicide in Mexico

12:15 pm 08/04/2021
A A
Sister of legendary hunger striker Ali Çiçek recalls her brother’s sacrifice in 1982 death fast
Share this
FacebookTwitterRedditEmailLinkedInWhatsApp

Desmond Fernandes

Victoria Esperanza Salazar, a Salvadoran woman who died at the hands of Mexican police, was buried in La Generosa cemetery, located 40 miles to the west of San Salvador, the capital of El Salvador. Her friends and relatives were present at her graveside and demanded justice over her murder.

In scenes that are reminiscent of the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis in 2020 (where Floyd was pronounced dead after a white police officer was seen in video footage pressing his knee against Floyd’s neck for nearly nine minutes, keeping that position even after Floyd had gone limp), footage emerged on social media showing a female officer appearing to kneel on Victoria Esperanza Salazar’s back as she was being arrested.

The videos showed Salazar unresponsive even as she was handcuffed later and lifted by several officers into a patrol truck. Salazar was reportedly killed in Mexican police custody in Tulum. Salazar had been granted refugee status and a ‘humanitarian visa’ in Mexico in 2018 and had been living ever since in Tulum. She left behind two daughters, aged 15 and 16, who lived with her in Mexico.

Carlos Salazar, Victoria’s brother, called for justice. “We want justice! We hope this is resolved because everyone saw how my sister was murdered. The police did not act right”, he reportedly stated at her funeral. Salazar’s death has ignited protests in Mexico City, Tulum and San Salvador. The Archbishop of San Salvador, Jose Luis Escobar, in expressing his sorrow at hearing the news of Salazar’s death, appealed to the governments of El Salvador, Mexico and the United States to defend and respect “the rights of migrants”.

Police Officers face charges of femicide

Mexico’s Attorney General’s Office in Quintana Roo on Saturday confirmed that it had charged one female and three male police officers who had arrested and detained Salazar with femicide – the killing of a woman because of her gender. It stated: “The events occurred last Saturday, 27 March, … when the victim was detained by the police officers and, after being subjected to excessive and disproportionate force, likely prompted the death of the foreign woman”.

The Attorney General’s Office confirmed that all four officers in the Salazar case had been arrested and will remain behind bars for the duration of the trial. It added: “There will be no impunity for those who participated in the death of the victim, and all the force of the law will be brought to bear to bring those responsible to trial”.

Salazar’s autopsy revealed that her neck had been broken. The news website Noticaribe published a video showing Salazar writhing in agony, calling out as she lay face down by a roadside with a policewoman kneeling on her back – as three male officers stood by without seeking to halt the policewoman’s actions.

Mexico’s President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador stated that Salazar was subjected to “brutal treatment and murdered” after her detention. President Nayib Bukele of El Salvador, in a tweet in Spanish, also reportedly indicated that “the case of Victoria is much worse than we thought”. Without providing further details, Mr Bukele reportedly alleged that “there are more aggressors” than previously thought. He had alleged when he wrote the tweet that not all the aggressors had been arrested yet.

Reuters and the Mexican TV channel Milenio further reported that Carlos Joaquin, the governor of Quintana Roo also stated that Salazar’s partner had been arrested for “abusing” her and her daughters.

Even as several people have viewed Salazar’s murder as a femicide, others have strongly disagreed with this interpretation. Norisa Diaz in the World Socialist Web Site concludes that: “The primary focus in the media and among protesters has been on the fact that she is a woman, but more significantly Salazar has been added to the growing list of immigrants in Mexico who face daily brutalisation, theft, rape and murder as they seek a better life in the country or on their way north to the United States. Migrants are regularly targeted by both criminal gangs and Mexican police and government officials who often work in tandem with the gangs.

“‘There has been a widespread dissemination of this story under the label of femicide and under the flag of pseudo-progressive reactionary identity politics’, (a student) Carlos noted. ‘To label this tragic incident as a femicide is to mischaracterise the entire situation, the term femicide refers a sex-based hate crime; it’s the intentional killing of a woman or a girl because they’re female. Victoria wasn’t killed because she’s a woman, she’s a victim of the societal conditions that expose the international working class to the apparatuses of repression of the bourgeois state”.

For Diaz: “It is of no surprise that Salazar’s tragic killing has been added to the growing list of attacks on immigrants in Mexico. The fault lies not only with AMLO” – as the president is sometimes called (an acronym of his full name) – “but the Biden administration which is carrying forward the brutal anti-immigrant and imperialist policies of the prior Trump administration”.

Femicide in Mexico and women’s struggles to end it

Human rights, women’s and LGBTI+ groups, organisations, community organisations and human rights defenders have increasingly drawn attention to the unacceptable femicides that have been taking place in Mexico.

A recent Amnesty International report, ‘Mexico: The (R)age of Women: Stigma and violence against women protesters’, has further documented the manner in which women protesters denouncing gender-based violence have been subjected to various human rights violations.

Tania Reneaum Panszi, executive director of Amnesty International Mexico, in an interview with Noticias Telemundo and as also reported by NBC News, noted the following even before Salazar’s murder had been committed: “We have to understand that the police in Mexico live in a culture lacking legality. If the police are capable of raping, threatening to disappear, threatening to forcibly undress, threatening mass rapes, it is because there are no consequences – no transparency in operations”.

She added: “What we have found is that those who go out and march are seeking justice in cases of women who have suffered great violence either by the authorities or in the private sphere by their own partners. And these women find neither justice, nor truth, nor reparation when they go to the authorities”.

Karin Zissis in World Politics Review in December last year reported that “Mexico’s spike in femicides” was so troubling that it had sparked “a women’s uprising”, with mass protests taking place throughout the country: “Authorities had found the body of the 20-year-old (Bianca Alejandrina) Lorenzana, who was known by her nickname, Alexis, dismembered and wrapped in plastic bags.

“Her brutal slaying was the spark for the protest, but activists also demanded a response to a spate of recent femicides – the killing of women and girls for their gender – in the state of Quintana Roo. The state is part of a dire national trend: Government statistics show that an average of 10 women are murdered each day in Mexico, and femicides have jumped by 137% over the past five years”.

“There is rampant impunity in Mexico”, noted Zissis in her World Politics Review article: “From 2015 to 2018, only 7% of crimes against women were even investigated. In some ways, what took place in Cancun” (a women’s protest that turned violent when demonstrators tried to storm the city hall and municipal police used live ammunition to disperse the crowd), Zissis concluded, “reflects Mexican leaders’ tempestuous relationship with a feminist movement that has grown alongside the increase in femicides”.

This is Part 1 of an ‘Opinion piece’ series focusing on femicide and women’s movements and struggles in Mexico to end it.

Desmond Fernandes is a former Senior Lecturer in Human Geography at De Montfort University, who specialises in genocide studies, human rights concerns and an examination of the manner in which ‘Othered’ communities are ‘criminalised’ by state linked mechanisms and bodies.

Share this
FacebookTwitterRedditEmailLinkedInWhatsApp
Tags: Trending

Related Posts

Medya News Daily Review: 6 February 2023

Medya News Daily Review: 7 February 2023

February 7, 2023
Turkey’s pro-Kurdish HDP pools sources to reach earthquake victims, calls for civil mobilisation

Turkey’s pro-Kurdish HDP pools sources to reach earthquake victims, calls for civil mobilisation

February 7, 2023
Turkey shells Syria’s north despite devastating earthquake

Turkey shells Syria’s north despite devastating earthquake

February 7, 2023
SDF offers rescue assistance to whole of Syria

SDF offers rescue assistance to whole of Syria

February 7, 2023
Frustration, despair and tears on live tv as Turkey shocked with massive earthquake

Frustration, despair and tears on live tv as Turkey shocked with massive earthquake

February 7, 2023
Erdoğan shuns CHP in earthquake response in attempt to split opposition

Erdoğan shuns CHP in earthquake response in attempt to split opposition

February 7, 2023

Videos

Medya News Daily Review: 6 February 2023
DAILYSHOW

Medya News Daily Review: 7 February 2023

February 7, 2023

All News

Medya News Daily Review: 7 February 2023

Turkey’s pro-Kurdish HDP pools sources to reach earthquake victims, calls for civil mobilisation

Turkey shells Syria’s north despite devastating earthquake

SDF offers rescue assistance to whole of Syria

Frustration, despair and tears on live tv as Turkey shocked with massive earthquake

Erdoğan shuns CHP in earthquake response in attempt to split opposition

Medya News

Impressum

About us

Privacy Policy

Subscribe
Contact
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • All News
  • Opinion
  • Kurdistan
  • Women
  • World
  • Politics
  • Human Rights
  • Ecology
  • Economy
  • Culture & Art
  • Daily Show
  • Newsletter
  • Authors
  • Podcast

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept All”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies. However, you may visit "Cookie Settings" to provide a controlled consent.
Cookie SettingsAccept All
Manage consent

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously.
CookieDurationDescription
cookielawinfo-checkbox-analytics11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-functional11 monthsThe cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-others11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
viewed_cookie_policy11 monthsThe cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.
Functional
Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.
Performance
Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.
Analytics
Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
Advertisement
Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.
Others
Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet.
SAVE & ACCEPT

Add New Playlist

Loading
Contact