Mexican lawmakers got into a physical altercation on the floor of the Congress, with videos showing female legislators pushing and pulling each other's hair. Video footage from inside the chamber showed a group of female legislators from both the right-wing National Action Party (PAN) and the ruling left-leaning Morena Party exchanging blows, elbowing, and pushing repeatedly.
The fight started after PAN representatives, who were standing at the podium, refused to move while members of the Morena Party tried to force them away.
The video shows one woman grabbing another lawmaker's hand, prompting the second woman to quickly pull her hand back and strike her in the stomach with her elbow. In response, the first woman hit her from behind and then grabbed her hair, making the situation worse.
A male lawmaker tried to step in and separate them, but more lawmakers rushed towards the podium. Several women were seen pushing and grappling, while others stood nearby recording the scene on their phones.
The chaos happened after opposition lawmakers from the National Action Party (PAN) took over the podium to protest the proposed law being discussed, according to Fox News. The situation got worse as people began shouting at each other, and lawmakers from both sides clashed physically across the chamber.
After the incident, both parties condemned the violence but blamed each other for starting it. A PAN spokesperson, Andres Atayde, said that his party had taken the podium peacefully and didn't touch anyone, adding that the ruling party and its allies used violence to try to take back control of the podium.
"We took the podium peacefully, without touching anyone, and the decision made by the majority legislative group and its allies was to try and regain control of the board through violence," he said at a press conference.
While Morena spokesperson Paulo Garcia accused PAN of choosing physical altercation over discussion, stating, "What worries us a lot is how the opposition is systematically resorting to violence instead of arguments, in the absence of being able to debate."
