#NiUnaMenos
In Buenos Aires, thousands of women dressed in black to protest the brutal murder of Lucía Pérez. (La Nación)
The call for protests was made by the collective Ni Una Menos (not one more), along with 50 other organizations across Latin America. They protested Wednesday against gender violence in Chile, Uruguay, Mexico, Paraguay, Guatemala, Spain and France, among others.
The brutal murder of Lucia Perez, a 16-year-old teenager occurred between Saturday, October 8 and Sunday, October 9 in Mar del Plata, Argentina. The murder prompted the initiative to protest. Perez was drugged, raped and tortured, the news of which shocked all of Argentina and communities across Latin America.
Authorities were working tirelessly the night of the crime, according to local media, who also said compliance with investigations was very high.
Many women came to work dressed in black, and in some cases, convened to protest.
Subway workers in the Buenos Aires metro interrupted their work for an hour and the National Congress of deputies paused to support the protest.
Thousands of women, under heavy rain, gathered around the emblematic Obelisk of Buenos Aires in support of ending violence against women in the country.
#NotOneMore We will accompany them from anywhere they ask, by Enzo Maqueira
Support for the initiative has had strong echo on social media Wednesday. The hashtag #NiUnaMenos and #VivasLasQueremos (We want them alive) were trending topics during the protest.
Many local artists, intellectuals, athletes, politicians, officials and even presidents of the region used social media to support the fight against gender violence.
On Wednesday, the National Director of Legal Affairs on Human Rights Maria Aurora Garcia spoke to Infobae on the subject. So far this year there have been 170 murders of women in Argentina. In 2015, the state recorded 208.
In Mexico, some 200 people gathered at the statue of the Angel of Independence with posters. They had slogans like “No more” while shouting, “even if I have cleavage, even if I have a a skirt, I do not want to be murdered.”
In Montevideo, Uruguay and in Paraguay, marches were planned for Wednesday night. In the latter country the organization Women Free of Violence reported that as of September 2016, there have been 27 cases of femicide.
In Chile, President Michelle Bachelet made a statement in support of these kinds of marches. She mentioned on Twitter the death of Lucia Perez and another Chilean teenager by her stepfather.
President Bachelet joins those today, that are saying in many cities of Chile, #NotOneMore. For #ChileWithoutFemicides.
Bolivian President Evo Morales also sympathized with the women rejecting femicides.