Feminist Groups in Mérida Announce Anti-Colonial, Trans-Inclusive March for International Women’s Day

Mérida, Yucatán — Feminist collectives, organizations, and activists have announced a commemorative march for International Women’s Day to be held this Sunday, March 8, in Mérida, with an anti-colonialist, anti-capitalist, and trans-inclusive focus under the slogan “Neither the land nor women are territory for conquest.”

The mobilization will begin at 5:00 p.m. from La Mejorada park. For security and logistical reasons, organizers said they do not plan to reach the main plaza or block major downtown routes, aiming to minimize disruption for workers and businesses in the city center.

The call is signed by various feminist collectives and groups including We Are Women On Fire, Comando Trans Interseccional, Rueda de Mujeres, Red de Acompañamiento Yucatán, Violetas Rebeldes, The Heartkind Foundation, and independent activists. They argue that the fight for women’s rights must be linked to the defense of territory and historical memory against what they see as contemporary forms of cultural and economic colonization.

“Our march is anti-colonialist because we understand that control over women’s bodies, land, and natural resources is part of the same system of oppression,” the organizations stated in their announcement.

Demands and Focus of the Mobilization

The protest’s key demands, which organizers say represent both local and structural urgencies, include:

• Justice for femicides and gender-based violence
• Access to safe abortion and comprehensive reproductive health services
• Reduction of the wage gap and recognition of unpaid work
• Prevention and attention to child sexual abuse
• Full rights for women and LGBTTTIQ+ people
• Critique of the state and institutions as responsible for multiple forms of violence
• Defense of territory against megaprojects impacting ecosystems and communities

The anti-colonial framework, they explained, seeks to address how capital accumulation dynamics, gentrification, and extractive public policies disproportionately affect women, Indigenous people, racialized communities, and traditionally vulnerable groups.

The march organization also emphasizes its trans-inclusive and plural nature, calling for participation from families of victims and survivors of violence, autonomous mothers, human rights and environmental defenders, people with disabilities, trans women, youth, and community brigades.

The collectives indicated that the detailed route will be announced on March 8 itself as a preventive measure against possible actions by opposing groups or security operations.

In recent years, Mérida and Yucatán state have seen an increase in feminist mobilizations that challenge both misogynist violence and other structural violence including forced displacement, real estate development, and public policy regarding bodies and territories.

This year’s International Women’s Day, under a slogan linking bodies with land, joins a growing trend within the regional feminist movement to incorporate environmental, anti-racist, and community agendas into the traditional call for gender equality and the eradication of violence.