A man has been arrested by police authorities for sexually harassing Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum while she was greeting supporters on a street near Mexico’s seat of government.
The man, said to have been under the influence of drugs or alcohol at the time, was apprehended by police after allegedly groping and attempting to kiss President Sheinbaum.
The incident occurred as Sheinbaum was walking to an event near the presidential palace, stopping to shake hands and take photos with members of the public.
Despite the unwelcome contact, the president appeared calm in a video obtained from the scene, even agreeing to take a picture with the man before security officials confirmed his subsequent arrest.
Mexico City Mayor Clara Brugada announced that the suspect had been detained after a video surfaced online showing him approaching the president, putting an arm around her shoulder, and attempting to kiss her neck while touching her hip and chest with his other hand.
Sheinbaum confirmed on Wednesday that she is pressing charges against the man, whose name has not been disclosed, describing the harassment she suffered from a drunk man as an assault on all women.
According to her, this was not the first time she had faced such harassment, adding that the problem extended far beyond her position as president.
“No man has the right to violate that space. I decided to press charges because this is something I experienced as a woman — but it is something that we, as women, experience in our country,” she said. “I have experienced it before, when I wasn’t president, when I was a student.”
