Mexico, For a socialist feminism against sexist violence!
Alternativa Socialista, ASI Mexico.
In the last year, millions of women have taken to the streets to denounce the injustice and violence that the system exercises against them. From #MeToo to the inspiring Green Tide that travels through Latin America initiated in Argentina by the decriminalization of abortion, feminism has shaped the entire world. Mexico, on the contrary, has not been the exception thousands of women have mobilized to combat the violence of the system.
Not least, according to the UN, nine women are murdered daily in Mexico. Only from January to September of last year, two thousand and thirty-four femicides have been registered in the country. If this information is not chilling, it is estimated that in the country just over 60% of women have faced some form of sexist violence, and 40% have been victims of sexual assault.
To dimension it, it is enough to point out that in the public ministries there are 22,749 folders of investigation for some sexual offense against women. And this year 10 thousand 522 cases have been reported, representing an increase of 30% over the previous year. To this we must add the aggressions that are not denounced for fear of reprisal, it represents a real hell for women in the country. All this without considering the trafficking of women for the purpose of sexual exploitation, which constitutes the third most profitable crime worldwide and which constitutes the highest income of municipalities such as Tenancingo, Tlaxcala, in the center of the country. That is, women openly face an offensive against their physical, psychological integrity and life itself.
This figure largely explains the radicalism that the women's movement in Mexico has acquired. Examples of the mobilizations of mid-August last year, developed from the case of a 17-year-old girl who reported being raped by four police officers in a public ministry or more recently marches for the feminicide of Fatima, a girl Seven years missing, raped and tortured, they are clear in that regard. The mobilizations connected with the feelings of thousands of women living in living flesh the physical violence to which is added the indifference of the institutions of the system that intensifies and increases it. To which were added the unacceptable statements of Claudia Sheinbaum, head of government of Mexico City, who initially denounced these mobilizations as a provocation of the right. Hence the honest and comprehensive rage of hundreds of companions who, in the face of the indifference of Mexican justice and the unfortunate statements of the head of government, took to the streets with the slogan "don't take care of me, they violate me".
Machism, like racism, are just the gears of a violent and unfair system that seeks to divide, crush and aggravate the situation of those who day by day struggle to improve our living conditions. That is why for Marxists, the fight against machism is part of our daily struggle against capitalism. This does not mean putting one fight before another, but recognizing that they are part of the same fight against the system that starves us, denies us rights, violates and murders us. At the same time it allows us to draw a broader horizon, noting that sexist violence will not end unless it is accompanied by the construction of a more just society in all areas, a socialist society.
This is why, from Alternativa Socialista México, we propose a socialist feminism against sexist violence. This is nothing more than recognizing that women's struggle against violence goes through collective organization against machismo in schools, workplaces, on the streets and in general in society. Claiming our demands as part of the demands of the struggles of young people and workers, of which we are part. At the same time we recognize our partners, allies to advance our demands.
Unlike radical feminism, socialist feminism does not look at men as an enemy even when some partners reproduce the macho violence against which we fight. The system is our main enemy. It is not therefore strange that characters like Trump or Bolsonaro, who represent the interests of capitalism are those who have declared an open war against women. The fight against sexist violence is therefore a struggle for a more just society where women are not subjected to any kind of aggression just for being women. It is therefore part of the struggle of the workers, in Mexico and the world, against capitalism.
For a Socialist Alternative for the feminist movement against sexist violence and capitalism!
Photo; Faccion Latina / Flickr CC