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Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum reported filing a formal complaint after a man groped her and tried to kiss her while she was walking between meetings in Mexico City. This incident came to light a day after a video capturing the event circulated widely online.
Sheinbaum, Mexico’s first female president, expressed concern over the incident, stating, “If this happens to the president, where does that leave all the young women in our country?” She emphasized that no one has the right to invade a woman’s personal space.
The video, which quickly spread across social media before being removed by some accounts, highlighted issues of safety and violence against women in Mexico—an environment characterized by machismo and gender-based violence.
Questions were raised about Sheinbaum’s security arrangements, considering her approach to security. Like her predecessor, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, she often travels with limited security and interacts openly with the public, sometimes walking through crowds. She stated that she does not intend to change this approach, reaffirming, “we have to be close to the people.”
The incident occurred on Tuesday in the historic center of Mexico City, where Sheinbaum was greeting members of the public during her short walk from the National Palace to the Ministry of Education. The footage shows a middle-aged man wrapping his arm around her, touching her chest, and trying to kiss her. Shewarded his hands away before a staff member intervened. Her security detail was not visibly nearby during the moment. She mentioned that the man appeared intoxicated.
Furthermore, Sheinbaum condemned the Mexican newspaper Reforma for publishing images of the assault, criticizing it as “re-victimization” and an ethical violation. “Using that image is also a crime,” she added, referencing laws against digital violence. She demanded an apology from the publication.
The federal Women’s Ministry, established under Sheinbaum’s leadership, issued a statement urging women to report violence but also called on media outlets to refrain from publishing content that infringes on women’s dignity. Nonetheless, feminist activists have criticized Sheinbaum for insufficient action against violence toward women, pointing out inadequate prosecutions and investigations of femicides. In 2024, Mexico recorded 821 femicides, with 501 cases documented so far in 2025—a number many activists believe is severely underreported.
Ana Yeli Perez from the National Citizen Observatory on Femicide highlighted that the groping incident brings the issue of violence against women back into the national spotlight. She resonated with the idea that such acts are not only criminal but also emblematic of everyday challenges women face.
Sheinbaum called for sexual harassment to be classified as a “criminal offense punishable by law” and has asked Mexico’s Women’s Ministry to review legal codes across all states. Currently, about half of Mexico’s states, including Mexico City, have laws criminalizing sexual harassment.
Authorities identified the man involved as Uriel Rivera, who was reportedly arrested Tuesday night at 9 p.m., according to security records.
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