At least 81 people on Monday were injured during a protest of Mexican women's rights advocates that was suppressed by the National Police with tear gas and stun grenades.
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During the protest that marked International Women's Day, thousands of citizens gathered in front of the government headquarters in the Zocalo square, in Mexico City.
Local outlets estimate that over 20,000 people took part in a demonstration in which 19 civilians and 62 police officers were injured.
A group of protesters surrounded the Presidential Palace, President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador (AMLO) residence, shouting slogans such as "Femicidal Mexico" and "I'm marching because I'm alive, but I don't know for how long."
According to the New York Times, the International Women's Day protest was fueled by anger at AMLO for backing a politician accused of rape by several women ahead of the June subnational elections.
On Sunday, the National Police placed metal fences around the National Palace, anticipating that the March 8 demonstration would reach there. During the protest, the people wrote hundreds of names of gender-based violence victims on the barriers.
"We women have dignity and memory. A piece of fence will not intimidate us," Mexican writer Chantal Aguilar tweeted.
In 2020, Mexico recorded 967 femicides, a number almost identical to that recorded a year earlier (969).