THROW THE BOOK

Mexico’s President Pressing Charges Against Man Who Groped Her

Claudia Sheinbaum has said she’s taking action on behalf of all women because “no man has the right to violate that space.”

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum says she’ll be filing criminal charges against a man who sexually harassed her while she was chatting with citizens of Mexico City. The man approached her during a walk between government buildings, attempting an unwanted kiss and making physical contact with the leader. The incident, captured on video and widely shared online, shows Sheinbaum maintaining composure as her team intervened. She has since framed the incident not solely as an attack on her but as emblematic of the street-harassment experienced by countless women across Mexico. “If they do this to the president, what happens to all the women in the country?” she said. “I have experienced it before, when I wasn’t president, when I was a student,” adding that the assault will not discourage her from engaging with the public again in future. “No man has the right to violate that space,” Sheinbaum went on. Mexico City Mayor Clara Brugada confirmed that the man who groped Mexico’s president has been arrested.