Cancún March on International Women’s Day Aims to Spotlight Gender Violence in Quintana Roo

Cancún, Quintana Roo — Feminist collectives and social organizations have called for a major march in Cancún on March 8, International Women’s Day, to highlight the various forms of violence women face in Quintana Roo, one of the states with high rates of gender-based crimes.

Organizers expect between 8,000 and 10,000 women to participate, which could make this one of the largest demonstrations in the city.

Vanesa González Rizzo, general coordinator of Rights, Autonomy and Sexuality and a member of the organizing committee, said the gathering will begin at 4 p.m. at Malecón Tajamar. From there, contingents will march to the plaza of the Benito Juárez Municipal Palace, where various statements will be made.

She explained that the mobilization will be peaceful, separatist, and trans-inclusive, bringing together various feminist collectives, as well as searching mothers, relatives of victims, and human rights defense organizations.

“This is a march to invite all women and feminist bodies to take to the streets. We want to put back on the table the problems we women face in Quintana Roo and particularly in Cancún,” she said.

The route will start at Malecón Tajamar, continue along Avenida Nichupté, join Avenida Tulum until reaching the Monumento al Ceviche, and then proceed to the Municipal Palace.

Organizers emphasized that March 8 is not a date for celebration, but a day of memory and demand for rights in the face of the multiple forms of violence women experience.

In this sense, they noted that seven out of ten women over 15 in Mexico have experienced some type of violence, while Quintana Roo remains among the states with the highest rates of gender violence.

Among the issues they seek to highlight during the march are femicides, domestic violence, the disappearance of women, everyday harassment, and human trafficking—a crime in which the state ranks among the top nationally.

According to official figures cited by the collectives, more than 450 women were rescued last year in operations related to human trafficking, while the state also ranks fifth nationally in domestic violence, a significant portion of which corresponds to partner violence.

During the mobilization, symbolic actions will be held in memory of victims of femicide and disappearance, including a collective representation in which participants will lie on the ground to remember women who have been killed or gone missing.

Organizers reiterated that the march aims to raise social awareness and pressure for the implementation of public policies that address the structural causes of violence against women in Quintana Roo.