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# Activists Paint Names of Femicide Victims Outside of Mexico’s Presidential Palace
- URL: https://hyperallergic.com/mexican-activists-international-womens-day-femicide-mural/
- Published: 2021-03-08T22:23:04.000Z
- Updated: 2025-11-24T15:06:42.000Z
- Description: Ahead of a massive march for International Women's Day, the palace was covered with names and messages like “Trans women are part of my struggle.”
- Author: Valentina Di Liscia
- Tags: News, Feminism, Mexico, Mexico City, women artists, #wp, #wp-post, #image-position-large, #Import 2025-11-24 09:11 (2021, 2022, part 1)

This week, visitors to the National Palace in Mexico City will be met with the names of hundreds of femicide victims in Mexico, a nation where [10 women](https://theconversation.com/mexicos-other-epidemic-murdered-women-132307?ref=hyperallergic.com) are murdered every day on average. Activists gathered on Saturday to paint the names on the metal fencing surrounding the presidential residence, erected ahead of planned demonstrations yesterday and today, National Women's Day.

Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO) [said](https://www.infobae.com/america/mexico/2021/03/08/el-presidente-si-tiene-miedo-no-fisico-sino-moral-y-politico-la-critica-sobre-la-valla-en-palacio-nacional/?ref=hyperallergic.com) he decided to barricade the colonial-era building and nearby Fine Arts Palace to protect them from possible damage during the feminist march today, but critics saw the move as a symbolic dismissal of the country's gender violence epidemic. According to official data, femicides [rose nearly 130% between 2015 and 2020](https://www.reuters.com/article/us-womens-day-mexico/mexican-president-defends-10-foot-barriers-to-wall-off-women-protesters-idUSKBN2AY0M6?ref=hyperallergic.com) in Mexico, and at least 939 women were murdered last year.

A year ago, activists [gathered](https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/2/14/mexico-women-protest-after-gruesome-killing-of-ingrid-escamilla?ref=hyperallergic.com) in front of the National Palace to protest violence against women following the killing and brutal mutilation of 25-year-old Ingrid Escamilla, dousing its doors in red paint and the words "femicide state." Her name and countless others now surround the building along with messages of support and solidarity, such as the phrases "[Trans women are part of my struggle](https://twitter.com/ytzmaya/status/1368709881574825984?ref=hyperallergic.com)" and "Legal abortion now" in bright pink letters.

In a [press conference](https://www.elfinanciero.com.mx/nacional/que-dijo-amlo-sobre-los-nombres-de-victimas-de-feminicidios-pintados-en-vallas-de-palacio-nacional?ref=hyperallergic.com) this morning, AMLO described the act of writing the victims' names as "creative" and "dignified." However, the populist leader has consistently alienated and antagonized the growing feminist movement in Mexico. Over the last month, AMLO has been condemned for supporting the gubernatorial candidacy of Félix Salgado Macedonio, a former senator who [has been accused of rape](https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/02/world/americas/felix-salgado-macedonio-basilia-castaeda.html?ref=hyperallergic.com).

In addition to the metal fencing, city officials said they would [deploy police downtown](https://www.animalpolitico.com/2020/03/cdmx-mujeres-policia-monumentos-marcha-8m/?ref=hyperallergic.com), including more than 2,000 women officers, to safeguard demonstrators and historic monuments.

"This is not a 'mural of peace,' it's a mural of indifference, impunity, and pain," [tweeted](https://twitter.com/ytzmaya/status/1368584300589891588?ref=hyperallergic.com) Ytzel Maya, a Mexico City-based writer.