Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum Files Complaint After Grope Incident
On Wednesday, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum reported filing a criminal complaint against a man who groped and tried to kiss her while she was greeting the public. The incident occurred during a brief walk from Mexico's National Palace to the Ministry of Education and was recorded on video, which soon went viral online.
Sheinbaum Addresses the Incident
At her regular morning news conference, Sheinbaum, the first female leader of Mexico, called the act a crime and highlighted that many women in Mexico face similar harassment. She stated,
"If this happens to the president, what will happen to all the young women in our country."
She also noted that the man was visibly intoxicated.
Public Reaction and Security Concerns
The video, showing a middle-aged man putting his arm around Sheinbaum, touching her chest, and attempting to kiss her before staff intervened, spread rapidly across social media before some accounts removed it. The incident has sparked a wider conversation about women's safety in Mexico, a country grappling with machismo and gender-based violence.
Questions have also been raised about Sheinbaum's security, as she, like her predecessor Andrés Manuel López Obrador, travels with minimal protection and remains accessible to the public by mingling in crowds. Despite the incident, she affirmed she will continue to engage closely with citizens, saying,
"We have to be close to the people."
Summary
President Sheinbaum’s experience sheds light on the pervasive issue of harassment in Mexico and her commitment to remaining accessible despite safety risks.
Would you like the tone to be more formal or conversational?