In a disturbing video that has now gone viral on the internet, a man groped Claudia Sheinbaum, the President of Mexico, and even tried to kiss her before a member of the presidential security intervened.
While the president was greeting citizens and speaking to them in the street in Mexico City's historic downtown, a man who appeared to be intoxicated approached her from behind, placed one hand on her shoulder, and attempted to kiss her neck. He also tried to touch her body from behind with both hands.
As soon as Sheinbaum turned around, the security personnel steered the man away. The president could be heard saying, "Don't worry." She politely agreed to take a picture with him and patted him on the back.
However, Sheinbaum said on Wednesday that she filed a police complaint after she realised the man had continued to harass other women. In Mexico City, sexual harassment is punishable by law.
"My view is, if I don't file a complaint, what will happen to other Mexican women? If they do this to the president, what will happen to all women in our country?" Sheinbaum said at her morning press conference.
"This person approached me completely drunk; I don't know if he was on drugs," she said. "It wasn't until I saw the videos that I realised what had really happened."
She said that the government is going to review whether this behaviour "is a criminal offence in all states, because it should be a criminal offence, and we are going to launch a campaign."
READ | 'If They Do This To Me': Man Gropes Mexican President, Tries To Kiss Her
Sheinbaum's security personnel faced criticism after the incident went viral.
Some 70 per cent of Mexican women aged 15 and over experience at least one incident of sexual harassment in their lives, according to data from UN Women.
