China reports fewest number of coronavirus cases since it started tracking disease in January - USA TODAY

Kim Hjelmgaard USA TODAY

Published 7:02 AM EDT Mar 9, 2020

Authorities in China reported the fewest number of new cases of coronavirus since infections started being tracked in January, but the epidemic is continuing to spread rapidly elsewhere around the world Monday, rattling global stock markets. 

In the latest update from China's National Health Commission, the country said it detected 40 new cases of the virus in the past 24 hours, down from 44 new cases the previous day. China now has 80,735 total cases, among which 19,016 remain in treatment and 58,600 have been released. More than 3,000 have died.

Coronavirus live updates:Grand Princess to dock in California with 21 infected people; State Department issues warning

New infections in South Korea also appear to be slowing. 

Other international-related coronavirus developments Monday: 

• An exclusion zone in northern Italy came into effect as the number of cases there jumped to 7,375. Italy is the worst-hit nation in Europe. The Italian government is shutting down its museums, which include access to the Sistine Chapel, until April 3. Italy's quarantine order locks down 16 million people – a quarter of its population – across a large swath of its territory in the north close to Milan.
   
• Stock markets in London and Frankfurt dropped sharply after big losses on bourses in Tokyo and Shanghai. Investors have been on edge about the surging economic costs of the virus but further aggravating sentiment Monday: A squabble between Saudi Arabia, Russia and other major producers about how much to cut oil output to prop up prices amid the virus outbreak. Oil prices plunged more than 20%.
   
• France is banning events of more than 1,000 people to limit the spread of the coronavirus and recruiting recently retired medics and medical students to help deal with growing numbers of infections. The country reported 1,126 cases as of Sunday, up 19% from the day before. So far, 19 people in France have died. 
   
• Israel is considering requiring all Israelis and foreign nationals arriving from abroad to go into self-quarantine, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu tweeted.
   
• Iran has suspended all flights to Europe. Iran says the new coronavirus has killed another 43 people, pushing death toll to 237 amid 7,161 confirmed cases.
   
• Saudi Arabia has suspended pilgrimages to the Muslim holy cities of Mecca and Medina. It has also cordoned off access to many towns in the east of the country. 
   
• A Holocaust remembrance march in southern Poland has been postponed this year because of fears about the new coronavirus sweeping the globe. The event was expected to draw 110 delegations from around the world.
   
• Games in Germany’s Bundesliga soccer league will take place without fans.
   
• Britain is holding meetings to decide to whether to implement a policy of "social distancing" to limit the outbreak's spread. This would involve banning large gatherings, mandating that people work from home where possible and limiting contact with transportation hubs and other densely populated areas.

Coronavirus fallout: Sen. Ted Cruz, Rep. Paul Gosar are self-quarantining after interacting with person who tested positive for coronavirus at CPAC

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2020-03-09 10:51:21Z
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Italy's massive coronavirus quarantine provokes panic; stock markets tank 11% - CNBC

Passengers get off the train arriving from Milan (Milan), at the Garibaldi central station train in Naples, southern Italy. The Italian authorities are taking all necessary measures to close the entire northern Italian region of Lombardy, which is home to around 16 million people, in an attempt to stop the COVID 19 coronavirus.

KONTROLAB

Italy's extended quarantine measures restricting the movement of people in the northern regions have provoked panic among residents and accentuated the country's north-south divide.

On Sunday, Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte signed a decree imposing restrictions to the movement of people in the northern region of Lombardy — the epicenter of the outbreak in Italy — and 14 other provinces across the north, until April 3. The measures affect more that 16 million people, banning them from moving in and out of those areas.

The publication of a draft decree Saturday afternoon by a newspaper revealing the forthcoming, wider quarantine measures prompted panic among residents trying to get out before the restrictions came into force after midnight. 

Media reports said bars and restaurants emptied out with thousands of people trying to leave the region in cars and trains where there were reports of shoving and pushing by passengers.

There was a riot in a prison in Modena when inmates were informed that visits from relatives had been banned to prevent the spread of infection. Meanwhile, relatives of detainees in a Poggioreale prison in Naples clashed with police against the government ban and several other prisons reported skirmishes.

Relatives of the detainees in Poggioreale prison clash with the police to protest the government's ban on visiting detainees to prevent infection with Coronavirus (COVID-19) in prisons.

KONTROLAB

Italian stocks on the blue-chip FTSE MIB initially failed to open Monday along with other European markets. When the index did open, stocks were trading down around 2,290 points, or around 11% lower. 

Italy now has 7,375 confirmed cases of the virus and 366 deaths. The outbreak has been concentrated in Italy's wealthiest northern regions of Lombardy (where there are 3,372 confirmed cases), Emilia-Romagna (with 1,097 cases) and Veneto and has highlighted Italy's north-south economic and cultural divide.

'Don't come down here'

The presidents of the southern regions of Campania, Puglia and Calabria — which have far few cases of the virus — have pleaded with its own inhabitants studying or working in the north not to bring the virus back down south, telling people "don't come down here." 

Those regions, as well as Basilicata and Molise, have signed decrees ordering anyone that does arrive from the affected northern regions into a self-imposed quarantine for two weeks. Puglia's president said those that ignored the order were committing a crime and could be prosecuted.

"I speak to you as if you were my children, my brothers, my nephews and nieces: Stop and go back," Michele Emiliano, Puglia's president, said on Facebook Saturday.

"Get off at the first train station, do not catch planes for Bari and Brindisi, turn back in your cars, get off your buses at the next stop. Do not bring the epidemic that has hit Lombardy, Veneto and Emilia-Romagna to your Puglia," he said, appealing to the region's citizens stuck in the affected areas.

La Repubblica newspaper quoted Jole Santelli, the governor of Calabria, as telling people that "returning from the north in an uncontrolled way puts our country in danger ... Don't do it, stop!" 

"The government must block an exodus to Calabria, which risks triggering a disastrous bomb," said Jole Santelli, the president of Calabria.

Economists predict that Italy's economy, weak before the outbreak, will go into recession and the government has already announced that it will spend billions of euros to try to mitigate the economic impact of the virus on businesses and to help the North's beleaguered health-care system.

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2020-03-09 10:02:35Z
52780651267701

Italy's massive coronavirus quarantine provokes panic; stock markets tank 11% - CNBC

Passengers get off the train arriving from Milan (Milan), at the Garibaldi central station train in Naples, southern Italy. The Italian authorities are taking all necessary measures to close the entire northern Italian region of Lombardy, which is home to around 16 million people, in an attempt to stop the COVID 19 coronavirus.

KONTROLAB

Italy's extended quarantine measures restricting the movement of people in the northern regions have provoked panic among residents and accentuated the country's north-south divide.

On Sunday, Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte signed a decree imposing restrictions to the movement of people in the northern region of Lombardy — the epicenter of the outbreak in Italy — and 14 other provinces across the north, until April 3. The measures affect more that 16 million people, banning them from moving in and out of those areas.

The publication of a draft decree Saturday afternoon by a newspaper revealing the forthcoming, wider quarantine measures prompted panic among residents trying to get out before the restrictions came into force after midnight. 

Media reports said bars and restaurants emptied out with thousands of people trying to leave the region in cars and trains where there were reports of shoving and pushing by passengers. There was reportedly a riot in a prison in Modena when inmates were informed that prison visits from relatives had been banned to prevent the spread of infection.

Italian stocks on the blue-chip FTSE MIB initially failed to open Monday along with other European markets. When the index did open, stocks were trading down around 2,290 points, or around 11% lower. 

Italy now has 7,375 confirmed cases of the virus and 366 deaths. The outbreak has been concentrated in Italy's wealthiest northern regions of Lombardy (where there are 3,372 confirmed cases), Emilia-Romagna (with 1,097 cases) and Veneto and has highlighted Italy's north-south economic and cultural divide.

'Don't come down here'

The presidents of the southern regions of Campania, Puglia and Calabria — which have far few cases of the virus — have pleaded with its own inhabitants studying or working in the north not to bring the virus back down south, telling people "don't come down here." 

Those regions, as well as Basilicata and Molise, have signed decrees ordering anyone that does arrive from the affected northern regions into a self-imposed quarantine for two weeks. Puglia's president said those that ignored the order were committing a crime and could be prosecuted.

"I speak to you as if you were my children, my brothers, my nephews and nieces: Stop and go back," Michele Emiliano, Puglia's president, said on Facebook Saturday.

"Get off at the first train station, do not catch planes for Bari and Brindisi, turn back in your cars, get off your buses at the next stop. Do not bring the epidemic that has hit Lombardy, Veneto and Emilia-Romagna to your Puglia," he said, appealing to the region's citizens stuck in the affected areas.

La Repubblica newspaper quoted Jole Santelli, the governor of Calabria, as telling people that "returning from the north in an uncontrolled way puts our country in danger ... Don't do it, stop!" 

"The government must block an exodus to Calabria, which risks triggering a disastrous bomb," said Jole Santelli, the president of Calabria.

Economists predict that Italy's economy, weak before the outbreak, will go into recession and the government has already announced that it will spend billions of euros to try to mitigate the economic impact of the virus on businesses and to help the North's beleaguered health-care system.

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2020-03-09 09:29:18Z
52780651267701

Mexicans join International Women's Day march, national femicide strike - The - The Washington Post

Raquel Cunha Reuters A woman ties a handkerchief over the mouth of a statue of pre-Columbian ruler Nezahualcoyotl in Ciudad Nezahualcoyotl, outside Mexico City, on Sunday.

MEXICO CITY — Women poured into the streets on Sunday to start a two-day protest and national strike against gender-based violence, in what organizers hope will be a turning point for women’s rights in a country disfigured by violence and machismo.

Tens of thousands of women streamed through the capital to the national palace. Many wore purple, the color symbolizing International Women’s Day, celebrated throughout the world on Sunday, and waved signs reading “Fight today so we don’t die tomorrow” and “We are the voice of those who are no longer with us.”

[For Mexico, a day without women: national strike planned against gender-based violence]

“This is a cry of conscience for our society,” said Itzel Zurita, 32, who sells homemade food in Mexico state. She and a friend, Reyna Ayala, 34, a Walmart worker, said they joined the protest because they were horrified by all the women they knew — including in their own families — who had suffered abuse.

“If we don’t raise our voices, when will they hear us?” Zurita asked.

Protests marking International Women’s Day took place around the world, despite fears of the fast-moving coronavirus outbreak, and a few turned violent. Security forces fired tear gas at women’s marches in Turkey and Chile. Islamist hard-liners threw rocks and shoes at a women’s rally in Islamabad, Pakistan.

Raquel Cunha

Reuters

Women march Sunday in Ciudad Nezahualcoyotl.

In Mexico City, several canisters of tear gas exploded near the national palace, according to reporters, who said they apparently were detonated by several men in civilian clothes.

The annual demonstration for women’s rights here has turned into something of a social uprising after a string of gruesome killings. Women took to the streets around the country — from U.S. border cities such as Ciudad Juárez to communities in southern Guerrero state, where indigenous women and peasants joined marches.

In Guadalajara, demonstrators dyed the water in a public fountain red to dramatize the spilling of women’s blood. In Mexico City’s central plaza, the Zocalo, activists stenciled the names of victims of “femicide” — women killed based on their gender — on the pavement.

[The death of a 7-year-old girl provokes fresh outrage in Mexico]

Perla Acevedo, 32, an art gallery worker in Mexico City, had participated in other feminist protests in the capital. But she was on the verge of tears Sunday as she watched the throngs of women marching toward the presidential residence — students, mothers and daughters, transgender activists.

Acevedo said she was protesting “for everything that’s happening every day.” Mexico’s femicide rate rose about 10 percent in 2019 to 1,010 cases; an average of 10 women are killed per day. Surveys have found a majority of women have been victims of violence at some point in their lives.

Mexicans have been jarred by several barbaric murders in recent months, including the slaying and skinning of 25-year-old Ingrid Escamilla, and the killing of Fátima Cecilia Aldrighett Antón, a 7-year-old who was abducted at school.

Raquel Cunha

Reuters

A woman holds a pink cross with the words “enough already!” in Spanish.

“I know change isn’t going to happen overnight,” Acevedo said. “But people are talking about this at their dinner tables, in schools. That’s what counts.”

She and other marchers said they planned to participate in a national women’s strike on Monday. Major corporations, universities, state governments and other employers have thrown their support behind the strike, promising not to dock participants’ pay.

“What I think is happening is a collective awakening,” said Peniley Ramírez, a columnist for the daily El Universal. Women had protested in Mexico and other Latin American countries for years, she said. “But now being a feminist is politically correct. This makes a difference. The fact we see companies also becoming feminists, the politicians saying they are feminists, the intellectuals saying they are feminists — we are winning an ideological battle.”

[A woman was killed and skinned. Now Mexico is up in arms.]

The movement has turned into a significant political challenge for President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, who has been one of Latin America’s most popular leaders. His approval ratings have slipped as he has responded in what many view as a ham-handed way to the wave of outrage over femicides.

Henry Romero

Reuters

Women paint the names of female homicide victims at Zocalo Square in Mexico City.

The leftist leader has suggested that Sunday’s demonstration and the women’s strike were engineered in part by his conservative opponents. He’s linked femicide to free-market policies pursued by his predecessors. Initially, he scheduled the launch of a major lottery contest for Monday, before saying “I forgot” it was the day of the women’s strike. He moved it back a day.

“I’m in favor of women’s causes, but I don’t want the separation of men and women,” he told a gathering on Sunday in Zacatecas state.

[Mexico set a homicide record in 2019]

Ramírez said the president’s attitude further intensified anger over the government’s failure to curb violence against women.

“Many women say, we voted thinking it would be a leftist government, and you’d think, with a cabinet that is half women, that things at least on the level of public discourse would be different,” she said.

Claudia Ramírez, 36, a government economist, was among those propelled into the streets by López Obrador’s remarks.

“The response of this administration leaves a lot to be desired,” she said. “That’s what made me come.”

Read more:

AMLO is Mexico’s strongest leader in years. Some say he’s too strong.

More than 60,000 Mexicans have disappeared since the start of the drug war

Mexican government says more than 3,000 mass graves found in search for the disappeared

Today’s coverage from Post correspondents around the world

Like Washington Post World on Facebook and stay updated on foreign news

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2020-03-09 08:31:09Z
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Markets tumble as novel coronavirus cases grow in the US and northern Italy goes into lockdown - CNN

At least 3,821 people have died as a result of the virus so far, with the majority in mainland China. But figures outside of the country where the virus was first reported are growing, even as China slowly starts to get back to normal.

Almost 100 countries and territories have now confirmed cases, and dozens of deaths have occurred in Italy, Iran and South Korea. Italian authorities have placed much of the northern part of the country on lockdown, affecting nearly 15 million people, while other regions will face varying forms of travel restrictions. More than 7,300 cases and 366 deaths have been confirmed in Italy.

In neighboring France, the number of cases has grown to over 1,100, with at least 19 deaths, as fears of a Europe-wide epidemic continue to grow. Germany and Spain have both also reported hundreds of cases.

Markets tumbled overnight Sunday in the US, with Dow futures falling more than 1,000 points and the S&P 500 plunging as much as 5%, triggering a limit that prevents futures trading below that mark. The sell-off continued across Asia-Pacific, where both Australian and Japanese markets fell on Monday opening.

Wall Street has faced heavy losses for the past several weeks due to fears surrounding the coronavirus. During the last week of February, US stocks had their worst week since the financial crisis, and the economic disruption caused by the virus doesn't appear to be letting up.

Slowdown in South Korea

South Korea confirmed 248 new cases of the coronavirus as of Monday morning, bringing the national total to 7,382. There was one additional death from the virus on Sunday, bringing the national toll to 51.

While South Korea remains one of the worst outbreaks outside of mainland China, the new figures are the lowest increase per day in the country since February 26, raising hopes that the virus may be coming under control.

Around 90% of cases nationwide are from Daegu and North Gyeongsang province, where the outbreak first began. It has been linked to the Shincheonji religious group, one of a large number of new religious movements in South Korea, which has come under intense scrutiny since the outbreak, amid allegations leaders have not done enough to share information with the authorities.

In neighboring North Korea, no cases have been officially confirmed of the coronavirus, but global health experts have warned the country is highly susceptible to an outbreak given its close proximity to China and limited medical capabilities.

An evacuation flight with foreign diplomats who were quarantined in North Korea landed in Vladivostok Monday morning with 103 people onboard, a source on the flight told CNN.

Foreign diplomats stationed in North Korea had been kept in complete isolation since early February, amid concerns about a potential outbreak there. The exact number of foreign diplomats stationed in the country is unknown, but is estimated to be just a few hundred.

Italy on lockdown

Even as there were signs of improvement in Asia -- with China too continuing a decline in the number of new cases -- the situation in Europe and North America appears to be worsening.

Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte signed a decree early Sunday that will put millions of people across northern Italy on lockdown. The sweeping move puts the entire Lombardy region, as well as 14 other provinces, under travel restrictions, and is one of the toughest responses implemented outside of mainland China to get the Covid-19 epidemic under control.

Announcing the new measures, Conte said: "There will be an obligation to avoid any movement of people who are either entering or leaving" the affected areas. "Even within the areas moving around will occur only for essential work or health reasons," he said, according to Reuters.

While the lockdown only applies to northern Italy, other measures will be applied to the entire country. These include the suspension of schools, university classes, theaters and cinemas, as well as bars, nightclubs, and sports events. Religious ceremonies, including funerals, will also be suspended.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has called on "all countries to continue efforts that have been effective in limiting the number of cases and slowing the spread of the virus."

In a statement, the WHO said: "Allowing uncontrolled spread should not be a choice of any government, as it will harm not only the citizens of that country but affect other countries as well."

US outbreak grows

In the US, almost 500 cases of the virus have been confirmed, along with 19 deaths. The worst outbreaks are in New York state and California, where a cruise ship has been stuck off the coast for several days, as passengers were tested onboard. Health officials said the Grand Princess liner will dock in Oakland on Monday, and passengers will be transferred to federal military installations.

Multiple governors have declared states of emergency in their territories, as cases were reported across the US, including in Washington DC. An attendee at last week's Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Maryland, at which President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence were guests, has also tested positive for the virus.

Senator Ted Cruz and Representative Paul Gosar both said they will self-quarantine after interacting with the individual who tested positive. While neither man was showing any symptoms, they are isolating themselves out of what Gosar described as a desire to be "proactive and cautious."

Asked if he was worried about a potential exposure, the 73-year-old Trump said, "I'm not concerned at all."

"We're doing very well," he said of the US response to the virus. "We've done a fantastic job, with respect to that subject, on the virus."

Trump has faced intense criticism for appearing to downplay the severity of the outbreak and dangers posed to the US, as well as spreading conspiracies, such as that the media is exaggerating the virus in order to hurt his administration.

Two of Trump's key methods for encouraging his supporters have been affected by the virus: a booming stock market and mass rallies. He has sought to blame the downturn in the markets on the opposition Democrats' prolonged primary process, though few experts agree with this analysis, and so far has not canceled any rallies, even as health officials warned people to avoid large crowds.

"These were set up a long time ago," Trump said in the Oval Office when asked if it was a good idea to proceed with his planned rally on Monday evening in North Carolina. "I think it's very safe."

CNN's Helen Regan and Joshua Berlinger contributed reporting from Hong Kong. Will Ripley reported from Tokyo. Sophie Jeong reported from Seoul. Kevin Litpak and Paul LeBlanc reported from Washington. Additional reporting by CNN producers in Atlanta, London and Hong Kong.

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2020-03-09 08:03:45Z
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Markets tumble as novel coronavirus cases grow in the US and northern Italy goes into lockdown - CNN

At least 3,821 people have died as a result of the virus so far, with the majority in mainland China. But figures outside of the country where the virus was first reported are growing, even as China slowly starts to get back to normal.

Almost 100 countries and territories have now confirmed cases, and dozens of deaths have occurred in Italy, Iran and South Korea. Italian authorities have placed much of the northern part of the country on lockdown, affecting nearly 15 million people, while other regions will face varying forms of travel restrictions. More than 7,300 cases and 366 deaths have been confirmed in Italy.

In neighboring France, the number of cases has grown to over 1,100, with at least 19 deaths, as fears of a Europe-wide epidemic continue to grow. Germany and Spain have both also reported hundreds of cases.

Markets tumbled overnight Sunday in the US, with Dow futures falling more than 1,000 points and the S&P 500 plunging as much as 5%, triggering a limit that prevents futures trading below that mark. The sell-off continued across Asia-Pacific, where both Australian and Japanese markets fell on Monday opening.

Wall Street has faced heavy losses for the past several weeks due to fears surrounding the coronavirus. During the last week of February, US stocks had their worst week since the financial crisis, and the economic disruption caused by the virus doesn't appear to be letting up.

Slowdown in South Korea

South Korea confirmed 248 new cases of the coronavirus as of Monday morning, bringing the national total to 7,382. There was one additional death from the virus on Sunday, bringing the national toll to 51.

While South Korea remains one of the worst outbreaks outside of mainland China, the new figures are the lowest increase per day in the country since February 26, raising hopes that the virus may be coming under control.

Around 90% of cases nationwide are from Daegu and North Gyeongsang province, where the outbreak first began. It has been linked to the Shincheonji religious group, one of a large number of new religious movements in South Korea, which has come under intense scrutiny since the outbreak, amid allegations leaders have not done enough to share information with the authorities.

In neighboring North Korea, no cases have been officially confirmed of the coronavirus, but global health experts have warned the country is highly susceptible to an outbreak given its close proximity to China and limited medical capabilities.

An evacuation flight with foreign diplomats who were quarantined in North Korea landed in Vladivostok Monday morning with 103 people onboard, a source on the flight told CNN.

Foreign diplomats stationed in North Korea had been kept in complete isolation since early February, amid concerns about a potential outbreak there. The exact number of foreign diplomats stationed in the country is unknown, but is estimated to be just a few hundred.

Italy on lockdown

Even as there were signs of improvement in Asia -- with China too continuing a decline in the number of new cases -- the situation in Europe and North America appears to be worsening.

Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte signed a decree early Sunday that will put millions of people across northern Italy on lockdown. The sweeping move puts the entire Lombardy region, as well as 14 other provinces, under travel restrictions, and is one of the toughest responses implemented outside of mainland China to get the Covid-19 epidemic under control.

Announcing the new measures, Conte said: "There will be an obligation to avoid any movement of people who are either entering or leaving" the affected areas. "Even within the areas moving around will occur only for essential work or health reasons," he said, according to Reuters.

While the lockdown only applies to northern Italy, other measures will be applied to the entire country. These include the suspension of schools, university classes, theaters and cinemas, as well as bars, nightclubs, and sports events. Religious ceremonies, including funerals, will also be suspended.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has called on "all countries to continue efforts that have been effective in limiting the number of cases and slowing the spread of the virus."

In a statement, the WHO said: "Allowing uncontrolled spread should not be a choice of any government, as it will harm not only the citizens of that country but affect other countries as well."

US outbreak grows

In the US, almost 500 cases of the virus have been confirmed, along with 19 deaths. The worst outbreaks are in New York state and California, where a cruise ship has been stuck off the coast for several days, as passengers were tested onboard. Health officials said the Grand Princess liner will dock in Oakland on Monday, and passengers will be transferred to federal military installations.

Multiple governors have declared states of emergency in their territories, as cases were reported across the US, including in Washington DC. An attendee at last week's Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Maryland, at which President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence were guests, has also tested positive for the virus.

Senator Ted Cruz and Representative Paul Gosar both said they will self-quarantine after interacting with the individual who tested positive. While neither man was showing any symptoms, they are isolating themselves out of what Gosar described as a desire to be "proactive and cautious."

Asked if he was worried about a potential exposure, the 73-year-old Trump said, "I'm not concerned at all."

"We're doing very well," he said of the US response to the virus. "We've done a fantastic job, with respect to that subject, on the virus."

Trump has faced intense criticism for appearing to downplay the severity of the outbreak and dangers posed to the US, as well as spreading conspiracies, such as that the media is exaggerating the virus in order to hurt his administration.

Two of Trump's key methods for encouraging his supporters have been affected by the virus: a booming stock market and mass rallies. He has sought to blame the downturn in the markets on the opposition Democrats' prolonged primary process, though few experts agree with this analysis, and so far has not canceled any rallies, even as health officials warned people to avoid large crowds.

"These were set up a long time ago," Trump said in the Oval Office when asked if it was a good idea to proceed with his planned rally on Monday evening in North Carolina. "I think it's very safe."

CNN's Helen Regan and Joshua Berlinger contributed reporting from Hong Kong. Will Ripley reported from Tokyo. Sophie Jeong reported from Seoul. Kevin Litpak and Paul LeBlanc reported from Washington. Additional reporting by CNN producers in Atlanta, London and Hong Kong.

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2020-03-09 07:34:00Z
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Mexicans join International Women's Day march, national femicide strike - The - The Washington Post

Raquel Cunha Reuters A woman ties a handkerchief over the mouth of a statue of pre-Columbian ruler Nezahualcoyotl in Ciudad Nezahualcoyotl, outside Mexico City, on Sunday.

MEXICO CITY — Women poured into the streets on Sunday to start a two-day protest and national strike against gender-based violence, in what organizers hope will be a turning point for women’s rights in a country disfigured by violence and machismo.

Tens of thousands of women streamed through the capital to the national palace. Many wore purple, the color symbolizing International Women’s Day, celebrated throughout the world on Sunday, and waved signs reading “Fight today so we don’t die tomorrow” and “We are the voice of those who are no longer with us.”

[For Mexico, a day without women: national strike planned against gender-based violence]

“This is a cry of conscience for our society,” said Itzel Zurita, 32, who sells homemade food in Mexico state. She and a friend, Reyna Ayala, 34, a Walmart worker, said they joined the protest because they were horrified by all the women they knew — including in their own families — who had suffered abuse.

“If we don’t raise our voices, when will they hear us?” Zurita asked.

Protests marking International Women’s Day took place around the world, despite fears of the fast-moving coronavirus outbreak, and a few turned violent. Security forces fired tear gas at women’s marches in Turkey and Chile. Islamist hard-liners threw rocks and shoes at a women’s rally in Islamabad, Pakistan.

Raquel Cunha

Reuters

Women march Sunday in Ciudad Nezahualcoyotl.

In Mexico City, several canisters of tear gas exploded near the national palace, according to reporters, who said they apparently were detonated by several men in civilian clothes.

The annual demonstration for women’s rights here has turned into something of a social uprising after a string of gruesome killings. Women took to the streets around the country — from U.S. border cities such as Ciudad Juárez to communities in southern Guerrero state, where indigenous women and peasants joined marches.

In Guadalajara, demonstrators dyed the water in a public fountain red to dramatize the spilling of women’s blood. In Mexico City’s central plaza, the Zocalo, activists stenciled the names of victims of “femicide” — women killed based on their gender — on the pavement.

[The death of a 7-year-old girl provokes fresh outrage in Mexico]

Perla Acevedo, 32, an art gallery worker in Mexico City, had participated in other feminist protests in the capital. But she was on the verge of tears Sunday as she watched the throngs of women marching toward the presidential residence — students, mothers and daughters, transgender activists.

Acevedo said she was protesting “for everything that’s happening every day.” Mexico’s femicide rate rose about 10 percent in 2019 to 1,010 cases; an average of 10 women are killed per day. Surveys have found a majority of women have been victims of violence at some point in their lives.

Mexicans have been jarred by several barbaric murders in recent months, including the slaying and skinning of 25-year-old Ingrid Escamilla, and the killing of Fátima Cecilia Aldrighett Antón, a 7-year-old who was abducted at school.

Raquel Cunha

Reuters

A woman holds a pink cross with the words “enough already!” in Spanish.

“I know change isn’t going to happen overnight,” Acevedo said. “But people are talking about this at their dinner tables, in schools. That’s what counts.”

She and other marchers said they planned to participate in a national women’s strike on Monday. Major corporations, universities, state governments and other employers have thrown their support behind the strike, promising not to dock participants’ pay.

“What I think is happening is a collective awakening,” said Peniley Ramírez, a columnist for the daily El Universal. Women had protested in Mexico and other Latin American countries for years, she said. “But now being a feminist is politically correct. This makes a difference. The fact we see companies also becoming feminists, the politicians saying they are feminists, the intellectuals saying they are feminists — we are winning an ideological battle.”

[A woman was killed and skinned. Now Mexico is up in arms.]

The movement has turned into a significant political challenge for President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, who has been one of Latin America’s most popular leaders. His approval ratings have slipped as he has responded in what many view as a ham-handed way to the wave of outrage over femicides.

Henry Romero

Reuters

Women paint the names of female homicide victims at Zocalo Square in Mexico City.

The leftist leader has suggested that Sunday’s demonstration and the women’s strike were engineered in part by his conservative opponents. He’s linked femicide to free-market policies pursued by his predecessors. Initially, he scheduled the launch of a major lottery contest for Monday, before saying “I forgot” it was the day of the women’s strike. He moved it back a day.

“I’m in favor of women’s causes, but I don’t want the separation of men and women,” he told a gathering on Sunday in Zacatecas state.

[Mexico set a homicide record in 2019]

Ramírez said the president’s attitude further intensified anger over the government’s failure to curb violence against women.

“Many women say, we voted thinking it would be a leftist government, and you’d think, with a cabinet that is half women, that things at least on the level of public discourse would be different,” she said.

Claudia Ramírez, 36, a government economist, was among those propelled into the streets by López Obrador’s remarks.

“The response of this administration leaves a lot to be desired,” she said. “That’s what made me come.”

Read more:

AMLO is Mexico’s strongest leader in years. Some say he’s too strong.

More than 60,000 Mexicans have disappeared since the start of the drug war

Mexican government says more than 3,000 mass graves found in search for the disappeared

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2020-03-09 07:27:17Z
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