Día Internacional De La Mujer: Clara Brugada leads Zócalo message hours before 8M march
Saturday at 9: 10 a. m. ET, Mexico City Mayor Clara Brugada Molina led a public demonstration tied to día internacional de la mujer, as 4, 000 women formed the message “Siempre Vivas, Libres e Iguales #8M” across the Zócalo in the Plaza de la Constitución. The timing matters because the gathering came just ahead of Sunday’s March 8 mobilization, when thousands are expected to take to the streets.
Clara Brugada’s Zócalo rally and the “Siempre Vivas, Libres e Iguales #8M” message
Brugada, speaking as the event’s sole orator, described the formation of the phrase as an act of protest and a way to reaffirm continuity in the struggle for women’s rights. She told attendees that the Mexico City government supports women’s movement demands for equality and works “every day” toward that goal.
The mayor said the Zócalo would “embrace” the mobilization planned for March 8 and that participants would have the backing of the city government. Brugada framed the message as a declaration that there would be “not one step back” on women’s rights.
Mexico City government support for 8M mobilization drives the ‘why now’ moment
The immediate trigger for Saturday’s demonstration was the proximity of the March 8 march itself. Brugada used the hours before the mobilization to publicly align her administration with the expected street demonstrations and to position the Zócalo as a symbolic gathering point for the movement.
Brugada also argued that feminist organizing must be stronger and more coordinated in the face of what she described as a rights-regression agenda pushed by an “international ultraright. ” She presented her message as directed beyond the city—“to the world”—while anchoring her remarks in the planned March 8 mobilization in the capital.
Día Internacional De La Mujer and Brugada’s policy focus on the sexual division of labor
In one brief historical reference, Brugada recalled the activism of U. S. textile factory workers more than 100 years ago who marched to demand shorter workdays, fair wages, and dignified working conditions, describing them as pioneers of organized women’s mobilizations for equality and justice. She said the idea of an International Women’s Day was proposed later to make visible struggles for voting rights, workplace equality, and political participation.
Returning to the present, Brugada emphasized that March 8 is not a day for congratulations, but for struggle, remembrance, commemoration, and evaluating how women can continue to gain rights in society. She highlighted what she called a change of era in Mexico: for the first time in 200 years, the country has a woman president.
Brugada also identified eliminating the sexual division of labor as a central goal of her administration. She said her government sent Mexico City Congress a proposed Public Care System law aimed at recognizing, redistributing, and reducing care work, describing it as a pathway to create what she called the country’s first public care system.
The next confirmed milestone is Sunday’s March 8 mobilization; Brugada said thousands of women will take the streets of Mexico City on March 8, with the Zócalo positioned as a focal point for the day’s demonstrations as of 12: 01 a. m. ET.
