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The head of state is speaking to citizens in Mexico City when she is harassed by a man. The incident brings violence against women into focus – and the precarious security precautions.
November 5, 2025, 3:19 p.mNovember 5, 2025, 3:24 p.m
President Claudia Sheinbaum was groped by a man while touring the historic center of Mexico City. He approached the Mexican leader from the side, put his arm around her and tried to kiss the 63-year-old, as can be seen in videos of the incident. He then appears to try to grab her breasts from behind before being pushed away by an officer.
The man was arrested, as the newspaper “El Universal” reported. The public prosecutor accuses him of sexual harassment and sexual abuse. There was criticism of the security forces because the man was apparently able to approach the president with ease. Like her predecessor Andrés Manuel López Obrador, Sheinbaum also foregoes the protection of the military unit that was actually intended for this purpose.
“If they touch the president, they touch all of us.”
Mayor of Mexico City Clara Brugada
“If they touch the president, they touch all of us,” wrote the mayor of Mexico City, Clara Brugada, on the news platform X. “Today we reaffirm our commitment to a policy of zero tolerance towards violence against women. Harassment has no place in this city.”
Sheinbaum is the Latin American country’s first female president. According to a survey by the National Statistics Institute, almost half of all women in Mexico have experienced sexual violence at least once. Strengthening women’s rights is one of the left-wing politician Sheinbaum’s most important concerns. (dpa)