Protests, outrage in Mexico after burning activist alive
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Although Luz Raquel Padilla was under protective measures, she was doused in alcohol before being burned alive.
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Femicide and violence against journalists and activists in Mexico are serious issues. (AFP)
According to Mexican authorities on Thursday, a Mexican activist and mother of an autistic child died after being set on fire, which ignited protests, condemnation, and demands for justice.
See more: Danger looms over Mexico’s journalists
35-year-old Luz Raquel Padilla was doused in alcohol by a woman and 3 men and then blazed in fire at a park in Zapopan, Jalisco state, according to prosecutor Luis Joaquin Mendez, citing sources.
Hasta cuando voy a tener que vivir con miedo 😨 de que me pueda pasar algo y a mi familia y mi agresor sigue campante por la ciudad con el peligro de seguir haciendo daño #justicia #nomasviolencia #noquieromorir #auxilio @AlertaGDL @FiscaliaJal @GobiernoJalisco @CJMJalisco pic.twitter.com/ZwBm1oAEOB
— Luz Raquel Padilla Gutirrez (@GutirrezPadilla) May 17, 2022
Padilla, who is part of a caregivers' rights group "I take care of Mexico," died after suffering burns on 90% of her body on Tuesday, according to authorities. The case is being looked into as possible femicide.
Sergio Ismael "N", one of Padilla's neighbors, was arrested for causing injuries, making threats, and crimes against a person's dignity in connection with previous incidents, according to Mendez.
Ismael has not been charged with femicide until now, and, according to witnesses, he was not present at the time of Saturday's attack, according to prosecutors.
In May, Padilla had accused Ismael of threatening her and writing graffiti with messages saying "I'm going to burn you alive" on her residential building's walls.
"How long am I going to have to live in fear that something could happen to me and my family," she wrote.
Padilla complained on social media about her neighbor's behavior: listening to loud music, for instance, which she said affected her son's health.
On Thursday, dozens of women held demonstrations in front of the Zapopan police station, accusing authorities of inaction and indifference.
Vecinas y vecinos de #LuzRaquelPadilla se manifestaron hace unos momentos justo en el sitio donde ella fue quemada, en Arcos de Zapopan. pic.twitter.com/cQYzosi553
— Jorge Ocegueda (@jorgeoceguedaA) July 22, 2022
"Justice for Luz and justice for her son!" demanded Guadalupe Ortega, 62, a member of the Insurgent Women's Network, a group of caregivers for people with special needs, arguing that Mexican authorities need to be "more sensitive" to the struggle of women, such as Padilla, and their grieving relatives.
"Yesterday everyone was devastated by the pain of losing Luz and the governor (of Jalisco) was celebrating a birthday," Ortega said.
An average of 10 women are murdered daily in Mexico, according to official figures.
"We condemn the murder of care activist Luz Raquel Padilla in Jalisco, as well as any form of violence against people who defend women's human rights and fight against gender-based violence," UN Women Mexico wrote on Twitter.
The murder of Padilla came even though she was living under protection measures.
President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said the case springs from a "loss of values" that "was promoted in the neoliberal period," referring to the time before he took office.
"It's a dehumanizing model that produces hatred, grudges and frustration," he added.
More than 150 journalists have been murdered since 2000 in Mexico, with only a fraction of the crimes resulting in convictions.
The victims are often reporters working for local media in states riven by drug cartel-related violence and US arms flow.
According to the human rights organization Articulo 19, seven journalists were killed in Mexico in 2021, the highest number in the world, with 33 journalists slain in the previous three years.
