Barricades at Mexico’s National Palace ahead of protests
Posted March 5, 2021 4:09 pm.
Last Updated March 5, 2021 4:24 pm.
MEXICO CITY — Authorities have erected tall steel anti-riot barriers around Mexico City’s National Palace ahead of planned protests to mark International Women’s Day on Monday.
The colonial-era palace is located on the city’s vast central plaza, and is where President Andrés Manuel López Obrador lives and works.
López Obrador has been engaged in verbal sparring matches in recent weeks with feminists after his Morena Party nominated a man who has been accused of rape as candidate for the governorship of the southern state of Guerrero.
Candidate Félix Salgado has not been charged, in part because prosecutors claimed the statute of limitations ran out on one of the accusations. His lawyer has denied the accusations. But the Morena party has scheduled a re-run of an internal poll to see whether Salgado should remain as the candidate.
The installation of the barricades late Thursday and early Friday was ironic, given that López Obrador himself once led protests in the same plaza.
Some protesters at women’s rights demonstrations have engaged in violence and vandalism in recent years.
The Associated Press
