But he himself has come in for criticism from activists. In a 2014 interview, he defended men who make catcalls at women on the street and said there was nothing wrong with telling a woman, “Nice ass.”
A poll published Friday found 97 percent of women in Argentina have been victims of harassment multiple times. Latin America has been shocked by a recent string of gruesome murders of women and girls: a 10-year-old Chilean suffocated with a plastic bag; a 16-year-old Argentine raped and impaled on a spike; a 22-year-old Mexican strangled to death.
Activists condemn not only the killings but what they call a culture that values women less than men. In Buenos Aires, protester Dora Machicado, 42, told AFP equality for women would translate to less violence.
“Economic independence frees us from the violence of machismo,” she said.
(Sourced from agencies, feature image courtesy:revcom.us)
