Okupa CDNH
On September 2, 2020 following a routine meeting of the National Human Rights Commission in Mexico, two women refused to leave the premises in protest over the institution’s lack of progress on their cases. One of the women, Silvia Castillo, had met with the CNDH in relation to the case of her son, who had been murdered the year before. The second woman, Marcela Aleman, demanded answers from the CNDH on the sexual assault of her four-year-old daughter. Both of them came from San Luis Potosi, to meet with Rosario Piedra Ibarra, the president of the CNDH. Following the meeting, Marcela tied herself to a chair. Silvia and Marcela refused to leave the premises.
They had also connected with local activists, requesting support. The next morning, several members of feminist collectives arrived to protest outside the CNDH premises. They showed up in solidarity, and among them, was a group of young women dressed in black balaclavas and called themselves the Bloque Negro, or Black Block. They have protested multiple issues, including the prevalence of femicides in Mexico. Many of them had also experienced bureaucratic apathy, where they were not supported by the CNDH, but instead, sent to run about in circles. For many of them, investigations and hearings into cases of sexual assault hadn’t begun despite many attempts to meet with government officials. On many occasions, abusers remained free while the ones they targeted were forced out of their homes, and were subject to stigmatization and mental anguish. That abusers have greater rights than women and girls they targeted endured.
The women spent the night sleeping outside the premises on the pavement. Laying tarps out in the cold, they camped out in protest – bearing the insulting comments from passers-by. The women soon had the support of Ni Una Menos, with whom they wrote up a list of demands and on Friday, September 4, 2024, eight women entered the building and took over. After a peaceful dialogue with the security guards and officials, they entered peacefully. When the authorities came down, the women pushed against the gate and read out the list. They then moved into the rest of the building, forcing open a gate upstairs and asking other workers to leave. Many of the women brought their children along, not knowing how long they would stay. To call for support and anticipating potential police action, they turned to social media, asking for more collectives to come along and stand by them.
With time, more and more supporters showed up, bringing bags of clothes, food, diapers, toiletries, medicines, and water. With time, the front hall at CNDH was full of supplies and donations, as well as more people in solidarity and support. Offices became bedrooms, the staff kitchen became a communal cafeteria for many women. Outside the building, the women painted a mural, saying “Ni Perdonamos, ni olvidamos” which means “We neither forgive nor forget,” along with other feminist slogans and images of lipstick. Women read poetry, sang songs, and wrote the names of their abusers on the walls of the building.
In response, a few days after the takeover, President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador accused the women of being “conservatives,” tagging them with an accusation used to label movements undermining the incumbent government. The President repeatedly insisted that the country did not have a serious problem with gender-based violence. However, femicide rates have increased, and Mexico has also adopted a feminist foreign policy.
Over time, many of the women were arrested and detained, and the movement also splintered with differences in ideologies. The movement was led by cis-het women and excluded trans women, which led several LGBTQIA+ groups to withdraw support.
It is important to note, however, that even as a significant movement in itself, this is not a hagiography. There are also criticisms that while the movement rightly identified the state and its institutions as their oppressors, it also stopped with requesting solutions within the same system that oppresses them. The movement did not necessarily question the capitalistic, racist, and colonial aspects underpinning the patriarchal ways of the state. Regardless, as a leaderless movement that emerged in response to deep seated organizational apathy, Okupa CNDH is an example of collective action and organizing, and an effort to name the limitations that come with a state calling itself feminist and doing very little to hold itself accountable to that identity.
References
Brnovic, T. (2023). The Women of Okupa Cuba Casa Refugio. https://digitalrepository.trincoll.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1131&context=trinitypapers
Okupa Bloque Negro, Fourteen-point Document. https://www.facebook.com/Okupa-Bloque-Negro-119183619921774/photos/pcb.129035895603213/129035832269886
Wattenberger, M. (2020). Inside Mexico’s feminist occupation. https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2020/10/29/block-feminists-okupa
