Eleventh anniversary of the murder of Marisela Escobedo Ortiz “The shame of the Government”

Chihuahua, Chih., December 16, 2021. Activists, civil society organizations that advocate for women’s rights and feminist collectives met as we do every year at the plaque placed in honor of Marisela Escobedo Ortiz, who was cowardly murdered at the Government Palace’s gates for demanding justice in the femicide of her daughter, Rubí Marisol Frayre Escobedo.

Days before the terrible crime, Marisela foretold her own death: “If this man is going to come and kill me, let him come and kill me here, in front of the Government Palace so that this will bring shame to our government.”

After eleven years of impunity, with the entire family forcibly displaced to another country and with an ongoing increase in violence against girls and women in Chihuahua, this crime continues to be the shame of the government, at all levels.

Like Marisela Escobedo, it is mostly the mothers of the victims of femicide and the mothers of the disappeared who risk their lives to demand truth, justice and reparation; this is why today we also remember the obligation of governments, within the scope of their powers, to guarantee the rights of women, girls and adolescents, which necessarily implies allocating sufficient economic resources to serve them.

We are here to honor Marisela’s struggle and that of all the mothers who seek justice in this country, and to demand the following from the government:

  • We demand that an official, impartial, exhaustive and diligent investigation be carried out into the murder of Marisela Escobedo, which remains unpunished;
  • We demand an efficient investigation into the actions or omissions that led Marisela Escobedo’s family to request political asylum in a foreign country.
  • We demand that all the necessary measures be implemented to eradicate violence against women, girls and adolescents in Mexico, as established by the international treaties to which our country is a party, mainly the issue of sufficient budget allocation.
  • Compliance with the Gender Alert decreed last August, with the participation of civil society.
  • In general, we demand compliance with the recommendations of international human rights protection organizations that present us with a way to prevent, punish and eradicate violence against girls and women in Chihuahua and in Mexico

Because justice for Marisela Escobedo is justice for everyone!

Background

Marisela was 52 years old when she was cowardly murdered. Until she was 48 years old, she had dedicated herself to her children, to her nursing career and her entrepreneurial spirit. The last four years of her life would forever leave a mark on the history of Chihuahua and of the accusatory criminal system in Mexico. Those four years showcased to the world the impunity that prevails in our country.

Marisela became the main investigator into the disappearance of her daughter, Rubí Marisol Fraire Escobedo, which took place in August 2008. Thanks to the evidence collected by her, it was determined that Rubí had been murdered by her partner, Sergio Rafael Barraza Bocanegra, who had subsequently fled from Chihuahua; Marisela managed to locate him, and as a result of her efforts, he was arrested to stand trial in the recently implemented New Criminal Justice System.

During Marisela’s statement in the trial against Sergio, she explained that she was there because she wanted her daughter’s femicide to be the last one in Chihuahua. The Court acquitted and released the confessed murderer.

During a retrial, he was convicted, but Sergio Rafael was no longer imprisoned, so Marisela began a tenacious fight to demand the arrest of her daughter’s murderer.

She traveled throughout Mexico, led marches, held multiple demonstrations, met with authorities at different levels, located Sergio on her own three times and demanded his arrest, confronted the Governor, denounced the collusion between authorities and drug traffickers, faced death threats by the murderer’s family, warned that she would be killed if they did nothing to protect her and that her death would be the shame of the Government.

On the evening of December 16, 2010, Marisela Escobedo Ortiz was murdered at the gates of the Government Palace of Chihuahua.

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Mexico is a country that suffers from a lack of social justice and in which there is still a long way to go to guarantee human rights for all people. Our work is medullary in the demand for truth, justice, and reparation. Continuing this cause is work that cannot cease and doing so requires solidarity and support. If you want to contribute to our cause, you can make your donation through PayPal.

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