Mexico imagines a world without women, in the midst of the national strike against gender violence

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Feminicides: a chain of impunity 9:25

(CNN) - What would happen if all women in Mexico disappeared? That is the question that is at the heart of a national strike that began on Monday and during which women are expected not to go to work or to their schools or universities to protest against the growing cases of femicide.

• MIRA: "Song without fear", the Mexican feminist anthem against femicides that rumbled in the Zocalo and on the march

Several groups of activists have asked women throughout Mexico to stay home during the day, with the aim of demonstrating against the shocking levels of gender violence that have been registered in the country.

The number of femicides - which is the murder of women by their gender - has skyrocketed in recent years. 1,006 cases were reported in 2019, an increase from the 912 registered the previous year.

According to the Attorney General of Mexico, Alejandro Gertz, femicides have increased 137% in the last five years.

The strike on Monday comes a day after the mass protests that took place in the streets of Mexico to commemorate International Women's Day.

A protester during a march for International Women's Day 2020 in Mexico City

Lidia Florencio was one of the hundreds of women who participated in a march in Mexico City this Sunday. She carried a banner with the image of her murdered daughter, Diana Velázquez Florencio.

The 24-year-old girl was raped and murdered near her home in July 2017. More than two years later, there are still no suspects in the case. His mother, Lidia, broke into tears when he told CNN that "the government has done nothing to help."

“Where is the murderer, where? Asked Lidia Florencio.

Police have not responded to CNN's request to comment on the murder, which officials classified as femicide.

Like many other women with whom CNN spoke during Sunday's march, Florencio said he demanded "that the federal government take gender violence seriously."

The president of Mexico, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, has faced strong criticism from activists for holding the neoliberal policies of previous governments responsible for the feminicide problem.

After the murder of a seven-year-old girl earlier this year, which shocked the nation, López Obrador said the increase in homicides due to gender was partly due to a society that “fell into a decline, a progressive degradation process that had to do with the neoliberal model ”.

The girl, named Fatima, was sexually abused and beaten before she died. His body was found inside a plastic bag in Mexico City.

Neoliberalism has been a frequent target of López Obrador's anger, but his decision to link a common political conversation issue with femicides enraged many observers.

Natalie Gallon and Rob Picheta, both of CNN, contributed to this report.

FeminicidesFeminicides MexicoFeminismWomen's diseaseProtestaGender violence