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A couple of hundred pro-abortion protesters clashed with police in Mexico City on International Safe Abortion Day . While local police prevented the protesters from arriving at the Zócalo, the city’s main square, some demonstrators used hammers to break doors and windows along the march route.
The protesters were demanding safe and legal abortions, which are currently allowed in Mexico City and Oaxaca but banned in many other states.
Mexico City
deployed 1,700 female police officers to try to control the march. But some demonstrators tossed flares and bottles of gasoline at the officers. Police used fire extinguishers to douse the flames and also sprayed the protesters with tear gas.
Some demonstrators also grabbed riot shields from police and formed a phalanx to try to advance. The city government said it would not allow the march to advance while protesters carried dangerous objects.
The city said it was in a difficult position because conservative groups have set up their protest encampment in the city’s main square, which is where the abortion protesters were going.
After the clashes, the local police allowed the protesters to make it to the anti-monument set up by victims’ families to remember victims of femicide and gender-based violence .
Local authorities said 36 police officers were wounded, two were taken to the hospital, and 13 protesters required medical attention.
Mexico City authorities denied there was repression during the march, even when the media reported police officers used the fire extinguishers against the protesters. The local Interior Minister said they didn’t allow the women to arrive at the Zócalo because they were carrying dangerous weapons and avoid clashes with conservative groups.
The government official also called on women to stop confronting the police during demonstrations.
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