A man was arrested for allegedly groping and attempting to kiss Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum while she greeted her supporters in the country’s capital.
The incident occurred Tuesday as Sheinbaum walked to an event near the presidential palace, shaking hands and taking photos with people along the way, videos on social media showed.
The man approached Sheinbaum, put one arm around his shoulder and with the other hand touched his hip and chest while trying to kiss his neck. A member of the presidential security team removed the man, who appeared to be under the influence of drugs or alcohol.
Despite his behavior, Sheinbaum treated the man politely, agreed to take a photo with him and then patted him on the back.
Security authorities later reported that the man had been arrested.
The head of Mexico’s Women’s Secretariat, a department created by Sheinbaum, commented on the incident.
“We condemn the act that our president experienced today,” Minister Citlali Hernández said in a post on X that also criticized what she called sexist attitudes that normalize unwanted intrusions into women’s personal space and bodies.
The events highlight a latent problem in Mexico. About 70 percent of Mexican women ages 15 and older experience at least one incident of sexual harassment in their lifetime, according to data from UN Women.
