By FABIOLA SÁNCHEZ and FERNANDA FIGUEROA, Associated Press

MEXICO CITY (AP) — What should have been a five-minute time-saving walk from Mexico’s National Palace to the Education Ministry for President Claudia Sheinbaum has become a stomach-churning viral moment after a video captured a drunk man groping the president.

The brief clip has given the daily harassment and assaults that women suffer in Mexico their highest-profile platform. And on Wednesday, Sheinbaum used her daily press briefing to say that she had pressed charges against the man.

She also called on states to look at their laws and procedures to make it easier for women to report such assaults and said Mexicans needed to hear a “loud and clear, no, women’s personal space must not be violated.”

Sheinbaum said she felt a responsibility to press charges, because if not, where would that leave Mexican women? “If this is done to the president, what is going to happen to all of the young women in our country?”

Indeed, if Mexico’s president cannot be in the street for five minutes without a man approaching her from behind, putting his hands on her body and leaning in for a kiss, then it’s not difficult to imagine what women with hours-long commutes on public transportation are experiencing daily.

Andrea González Martínez, 27, who works for Mexican lender Nacional Monte de Piedad, said she has been harassed on public transportation, in one case the man followed her home.

“It happens regularly, it happens on public transportation,” she said. “It’s something you experience every day in Mexico.”

Her coworker, Carmen Maldonado Castillo, 43, said she has witnessed it.

“It’s not good that men attack us,” she said. “You can’t walk around free in the street.”

Sheinbaum said Wednesday that she understands how widespread the problem is.

“I decided to press charges because this is something that I experienced as a woman, but that we as women experience in our country,” she said.

She said she had similar experiences of harassment when she was 12 years old and using public transportation to get to school. As president, she said, she felt like she had a responsibility to all women.

Mexico City Mayor Clara Brugada had announced overnight that the man had been arrested.

The incident immediately raised questions about the president’s security, but Sheinbaum dismissed any suggestion that she would increase her security or change how she interacts with people.

She explained that she and her team had decided to walk from the National Palace to the Education Ministry to save time. She said they could walk it in five minutes, rather than taking a 20-minute car ride.

Brugada used some of Sheinbaum’s own language about being elected Mexico’s first woman president to emphasize that harassment of any woman – in this case Mexico’s most powerful – is an assault on all women.

When Sheinbaum was elected, she said that it wasn’t just her coming to power, it was all women. Brugada said that was “not a slogan, it’s a commitment to not look the other way, to not allow misogyny to continue to be veiled in habits, to not accept a single additional humiliation, not another abuse, not a single femicide more.”

Lilian Valvuena, 31, said she didn’t think Sheinbaum had really taken violence against women seriously until yesterday when she had a first-hand experience. She hopes that work to better train police to respond will follow.

“They have to prepare them,” she said. “They don’t know what protocols to follow.”

Marina Reyna, executive director of the Guerrero Association against Violence toward Women, said that watching the video she initially worried that Sheinbaum had minimized the assault, continuing to smile and talk calmly to the man. But she hoped the president’s willingness to talk about it Wednesday would change how such cases are handled.

“You lose confidence in the institutions,” Reyna said. “The people stop going to report it, because when you report it nothing happens.”

Follow AP’s coverage of Latin America and the Caribbean at https://apnews.com/hub/latin-america

Mexico president Claudia Sheinbaum said she’s pressing charges after she was groped by a drunk man while speaking to people on a street in Mexico City.

The incident occurred Tuesday. Videos show a man put his arm around Sheinbaum’s shoulder and lean in for a kiss before putting his hands near or on her chest. She moves away and flinches as the man tries to put his arm around her again.

She faces the man and says, in part, “don’t worry.”

Mexico City mayor Clara Brugada announced overnight that the man was arrested after charges were filed.

“If they touch the president, they touch all of us,” Brugada wrote in a statement released Wednesday.

In a video posted online Wednesday, Sheinbaum said this wasn’t the first time she’d been harassed.

“No man has the right to violate that space,” she said, adding that the man was harassing other women on the street.

“I decided to press charges because this is something that I experienced as a woman, but that we as women experience in our country,” Sheinbaum added. “My reflection is that if I do not report the crime, what condition does that leave Mexican women in?”

The incident highlighted how Sheinbaum — like her predecessor Andrés Manuel López Obrador before her — tends to travel with a light security detail and spontaneously mingle with crowds.

She said on Wednesday that she did not plan to change that practice, saying “we have to be close to the people.”

Just months into her historic presidency, Claudia Sheinbaum was groped during a walk near the National Palace in Mexico City. A man, reportedly drunk, approached her from behind as she greeted supporters, put his arm around her, and attempted to kiss her neck while touching her chest. She calmly removed his hand and kept interacting with the crowd. Security intervened shortly afterward. The moment, caught on video, went viral and reignited urgent conversations about harassment, gender violence, and presidential security in Mexico.

The following day, Sheinbaum confirmed the man’s arrest and announced plans to press charges. She called the act “an attack on all women.” Her decision divided public opinion. Feminists praised her response. Others criticized the delay in security intervention. But one thing became clear: Sheinbaum’s presidency now confronts Mexico’s gender crisis head-on.

Sheinbaum’s Response Turns Personal Into Political

At her November 5 press conference, Sheinbaum rejected the idea that this was an isolated incident. “No man has the right to violate that space,” she said. She added that this wasn’t the first time she had faced harassment, and likely wouldn’t be the last. By pressing charges, she signaled a clear stance: powerful women must take action, not only for themselves, but for all who live with daily threats.

Supporters rallied around her message. Mexico City Mayor Clara Brugada echoed her words, calling it “an assault on all women.” Feminist leaders applauded the move and called for stronger laws on street harassment. Sheinbaum also committed to reviewing legislation to classify similar acts as criminal offenses. That marks a shift from symbolic outrage to legal reform.

Public Outcry Blends Support and Frustration

Online responses showed both admiration and concern. Many praised Sheinbaum’s poise. Footage of her removing the man’s hand while staying calm drew praise. One X user wrote, “She kept her cool and took care of it herself.” Another said her reaction showed grace under pressure.

But public frustration focused on her security detail. Why was their response delayed? In a country facing political violence, critics demanded answers. Commentators linked the lapse to her predecessor López Obrador’s decision to abolish the Presidential Guard. Some feared it left Sheinbaum exposed. Others suggested this wasn’t just a mistake, but a broader failure of governance.

Gendered Violence and Leadership in the Spotlight

The attack happened in broad daylight, surrounded by cameras and bodyguards. Yet it still occurred—highlighting the scale of Mexico’s gender-based violence crisis. According to UN Women, 70% of Mexican women over 15 have experienced harassment. An average of 10 women and girls are murdered every day.

Sheinbaum was already a historic figure, the first woman elected president of Mexico. But now she is also a case study in how female leaders navigate power and danger. Some feminist groups, like the Guerrero Association Against Violence Toward Women, warned that her calm demeanor might understate the trauma. Still, most believe her choice to file charges sets a new standard in how public officials should respond.

Final Thoughts

Claudia Sheinbaum’s decision to press charges reframed a personal assault as a national moment. She turned a violation into a platform for change. Her message is clear: even the presidency doesn’t protect women from misogyny, and silence is no longer acceptable.

Whether the long-term effect is legal reform, cultural shift, or both, the response already resonates. This is no longer just a viral clip or moment of poor security. It’s a test of feminist leadership, political will, and the nation’s ability to protect its women.

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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.”

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said Wednesday that the harassment she suffered from a drunk man in the street near Mexico’s seat of government was an assault on all women, and that’s why she decided to press charges against him.

Mexico City Mayor Clara Brugada had announced overnight that the man was arrested.

In a video circulating widely on social platforms, the man appeared to lean in for a kiss and touch the president’s body with his hands on Tuesday. She gently pushed his hands away, maintaining a stiff smile as she turned to face him. She could be heard saying, in part, “Don’t worry.”

On Wednesday, Sheinbaum was firm in emphasizing that this was not the first time she had suffered such harassment and that the problem went far beyond her.

“No man has the right to violate that space,” she said, in a video the Mexican government shared on social media when it announced charges had been filed.

“I decided to press charges because this is something that I experienced as a woman, but that we as women experience in our country,” Sheinbaum continued, adding that she also experienced it earlier in her life, as a student.

“My reflection is that if I do not report the crime, what condition does that leave Mexican women in?” she said.

The incident also raised questions about the president’s security. Sheinbaum explained that she and her team had decided to walk from the National Palace to the Education Ministry to save time. She said they could walk it in five minutes, rather than taking a 20-minute car ride. She said she would not change how she acts.

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum gives a morning press conference at the National Palace in Mexico City, Monday, Nov. 3, 2025. Marco Ugarte / AP

Speaking out in solidarity with the president, Brugada used some of Sheinbaum’s own language about being elected Mexico’s first woman president to emphasize that harassment of any woman — in this case Mexico’s most powerful — is an assault on all women. When Sheinbaum was elected, she said that it wasn’t just her coming to power, it was all women.

“If they touch the president, they touch all of us,” Brugada wrote in a statement released Wednesday. Her statement went on to note that Sheinbaum’s references to the collective “arrival” of women to power in Mexico is “not a slogan, it’s a commitment to not look the other way, to not allow misogyny to continue to be veiled in habits, to not accept a single additional humiliation, not another abuse, not a single femicide more.”

Mexico’s National Governors Conference also voiced their support for the president as news broke that she would bring charges against the man.

“From CONAGO we condemn any aggression against women, in this case the aggression toward the president of Mexico,” the group said in a statement shared on social media. “Every form of violence against a woman is unacceptable and should have no place in a society that aspires to live with respect and equality.”