Breathe
By Aideé Zamorano
September 7, 2024 is far from Mecano's song, while those lyrics were playing in my head, my childhood companion with whom I devoured whole jars of olives and sang in front of the mirror was living the worst day.
- "Bye mamiiii see you Saturday at nine."
Maria Paula (8 years old) says in a video that I have seen about thirty times and which was the last day that Citlalli, my cousin, saw her children.
In accordance with the opinion with draft decree reforming and adding various provisions of the Law on Women's Access to a Life Free of Violence, the Civil and Criminal Code and the Law on Assistance and Prevention of Domestic Violence in matters of vicarious violence for the State of Quintana Roo of August 18, 2022. Vicarious violence should be understood as: "That violence committed by whoever maintains or has maintained a de facto or partner relationship with the victim, and who by himself or through an intermediary person, uses as a means the victim's children to cause harm, generating a consequent psycho-emotional and even physical, economic, patrimonial or of any kind, both to the victim and to those who act as a means". (Local Congress of Quintana Roo, 2022)
Marco Alonso Sánchez Vera is the father of María Paula (8) and Marco Patricio (6). Since May 2024 he has had complaints against him before the Quintana Roo State Attorney's Office for domestic violence and for not paying full child support and in July he stopped paying it in full.
Marco also exercises psychological violence against the children, threatening the oldest daughter that she will die alone in a hospital if they do not go to live with him. The custody of the children is in favor of the mother, who is experiencing psychological, patrimonial and economic violence from her ex-partner from whom she divorced more than a year ago.
The national survey "The recognition of Vicarious Violence in Mexico" of May 2022 conducted by the National Front against Vicarious Violence and the company Altermind indicate that 86% of the victims, the aggressor threatened to harm them through their children.
On September 7, in response to Marco's previous threats to take the children from her, my cousin arrived two hours earlier than agreed to pick them up, she was prohibited from entering the subdivision and Marco blocked all means of communication with her. Citlalli Mejia Gonzalez filed an Amber Alert that same day with the Quintana Roo State Attorney's Office for child retention and abduction, which was published until September 14 and was deactivated one day later.
Is the Quintana Roo Attorney General's Office an accomplice of Marco Alonso Sánchez Vera? The team of Raciel Lopez Salazar (Attorney General of the State of Quintana Roo) deactivated an Amber Alert when the man who has two complaints against him in the same venue came forward to say that the minors are with him. Does no one do a review of the profile requesting the deactivation of a missing child file? Do the officials of the Quintana Roo Attorney General's Office have trainings on gender violence and protection of children's rights?
In addition to vicarious violence, women and children must endure institutional violence. Who is going to protect my nephews and nieces from the risk they are living with their father if the same authorities do not verify their safety?
If you know Marco Alonso Sanchez Vera who lives in Cancun, Quintana Roo, Mexico break the pact and denounce him, the children have been separated from their mother since September 5, 2024. They have not spoken to her for a single minute either.
It should be recalled that the National Survey on the Dynamics of Household Relationships (ENDIREH 2021) indicates that 70.1% of women over 15 years of age in Mexico have suffered violence, that is, 7 out of 10.
The ENDIREH classifies violence into:
- Economic, patrimonial and/or discrimination (27.4% of the women in the sample reported having experienced it).
- Physical (34.7%)
- Psychological (51.6%)
- Sexual (49.7%)
Violence in the ENDIREH is measured in the following areas: community, digital, school, family, work, and couple. Mexico is facing a public problem that must be addressed from all sectors.
The states in Mexico that report the highest prevalence of violence against women are:
- State of Mexico (78.7%)
- Mexico City (76.2%)
- Querétaro (75.2%)
In this case, it is necessary to highlight the State of origin of Marco Alonso Sánchez Vera and the place of the facts.
- Jalisco (71.9%)
- Quintana Roo (70.4%)
Women who have experienced violence are made to believe that it is our fault, that we earned it and that we are surely paying for some mistake, nothing is more false. The patriarchy operates better than any system of access to justice and that is not a triumph, it is a reflection of the systematic violence that for years has placed us on the vulnerable side. We ask you to join the movement in networks #JusticiaParaPaulayMarco #ProntoNosVolveremosaAbrazar.
I have heard my cousin on the phone saying that she is devastated, that the sky is coming down on her and that she is alone. To those who are not moved by the disappearance of two children and the damage this abduction does to their physical and mental integrity, I ask you to stay away, we do not need any more re-victimization on your part and you can keep your opinion where it suits you best.
No, we mothers do not choose the fathers of our children badly, it is the men who decide to be violent people. It is not normal for a father to take children away from their mother.
In a case of vicarious violence the days are key, the psychological and physical risk that minors could be living can have irreversible impacts. If you work with Marco Alonso, he is your friend, your neighbor, your brother, it is time to tell him to stop. Let the social outcry have greater effects than the incompetence of the local authorities.
Shame on them, it is the system of access to justice that is rotten and corrupt (here it is worth noting that the prosecutors' offices were and are the real problem and that their autonomy is not understood). If you are worried about what people will say, you are on the wrong side of the story, the only interest today is to have the children back with the person who cares for them.
Maria Paula and Marco: I promise you from my heart that your mother is doing everything to have you back with her, she loves you with all her being. Do not be afraid. Do not believe the lies they tell you about her. She is not alone, she has people who are accompanying her in this search and who dream of seeing them reunited again.
One more day, almost another Saturday and we get ready to embrace them again.
The opinions expressed are the responsibility of the authors and are absolutely independent of the position and editorial line of the company. Opinion 51.
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