The creator of the map of femicides: “The State does not understand the causes of violence”

The brutal murder of the girl Fatima this week and Ingrid Escamilla in recent days have turned on social networks messages of outrage at the sexist violence and feminicides in Mexico. Hashtags such as #JusticiaParaTodas and #C thingsQuePasanPorSerMujer evidenced the anger and vulnerability of women in the country.

After the murders, various manifestations of feminist groups have arrived at the National Palace to demand the Government of Andrés Manuel López Obrador to take concrete measures to curb femicide. The president said in his press conference on Tuesday that his administration is "addressing the causes" of this violence, but did not present a concrete strategy to curb the high rate of femicides.

The number of women killed is increasing. María Salguero, the author of the map that documents these cases since 2016, details that in 2019 they were killed at 3,825, an increase of 6% compared to 2018 and almost double what was recorded three years ago. “The president is turning his back on the victims. The State does not understand the causes of violence that lead to femicides, ”says geophysics to Verne , by telephone.

During 2019 they killed 3825 women. It is an increase of 6% compared to 2018. In Mexico, between 10 and 11 women are killed per day #Feminicides #FeminicidesMx #NiUnaMas pic.twitter.com/FmmFN0W2qd

The femicides of Fatima and Ingrid, Salguero points out, show the impunity processes in the investigation of these murders. "Femicide is used by governments as a political weapon," he says. "Depending on the administration, several femicides are erased at a stroke," says the activist. In recent days, the Attorney General of the Republic, Alejandro Gertz Manero, proposed modifying the criminalization of the crime of feminicide. "The prosecutor does not understand that it is a very serious situation and that the recommendations of the Cedaw [of the United Nations] have to be applied," he says.

The researcher points out that there are patterns of violence against women in places where there is a struggle between organized crime groups. “In Guanajuato, for example, women are seen as an object of possession and there is a great vindication of causing death, torture and rape,” he says.

The murder of women is one of the most visible consequences of sexist violence, but not the only one. According to INEGI, more than half of Mexican women have ever faced a violent situation.

Following the demonstrations, members of the Government and political parties in Mexico have joined the criticism. “The data shown on this map is of no use without the context of inequality in which they live,” says Salguero. "That's what the authorities need," he says.

The map of feminicides in Mexico takes data of the murdered women and the information of the victim and the alleged murderer can be read at each of the crosses when the information is available. The states with the most women killed in 2019 are the State of Mexico, Jalisco, Chihuahua and Baja California. Femicide is part of a wave of violence that has not stopped in recent years and that translates into 100 murders a day.

The states with the most women killed are the State of Mexico, Guanajuato, Jalisco, Chihuahua and Baja California pic.twitter.com/zIqJOMlPe7

Follow Verne Mexico on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram and do not miss your daily ration of Internet wonders.