Femicides and Female Presidents: A Comparative Study on the Development of Laws Against Femicide in Mexico and Honduras

Authors

Daniela Garcia, Southern Methodist University, Dedman School of Law

Abstract

Gender-based killings, femicides, are the ultimate form of women suppression, and this crime flourishes in countries with deeply rooted misogyny and systematic gender power imbalance. But there is a complicated phenomenon occurring in Mexico and Honduras, in which their constituents voted for female presidents yet both countries have persistent rates of femicides. President of Honduras Xiomara Castro and President of Mexico Claudia Sheinbaum organized their respective voting coalitions with support from feminist advocates who believed that a female presidency would bring gender-based issues and femicides forefront. The institutionalized power of the rightwing party hinders Castro’s plan for the young democracy still recovering from the 2006 military coup. Sheinbaum’s government faces the complexity of AMLO’s shadow and impunity in the Judiciary. Both countries codified “femicides” and set stringent sentencing guidelines for those charged with this crime. This note contextualizes the legal typification of femicides with political challenges in each country to provide insight on Castro’s shortcomings and Sheinbaum’s projected issues. In doing so, this note takes a comprehensive analysis of the study of femicides, and perhaps in describing the many systematic flaws that serve as opportunities for violence against women gives too much grace to Castro and Sheinbaum.

Recommended Citation

Daniela Garcia, Case Note, Femicides and Female Presidents: A Comparative Study on the Development of Laws Against Femicide in Mexico and Honduras, ILRA Student Forum (2024)