Mexican city bans live music degrading to women

Officials in Chihuahua, Mexico, voted to ban live musical performances with lyrics that degrade or discriminate against women last week.

Those who violate the restriction could face fines from 674,000 to 1.2 million pesos, or the U.S. equivalent of $39,000 and $71,000.

The move comes as Mexico, especially Chihuahua, has been dealing with a high rate of violence against women. In a video update on Facebook July 26, Chihuahua Mayor Marco Bonilla called the recent surge in attacks on women a “pandemic.”

“Imagine that almost seven out of every 10 calls we receive on 911, unfortunately, are related to family violence, and very particularly against women,” Bonilla said. “We cannot allow it and we cannot allow it to be normalized.”

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Songs promoting discrimination, marginalization or exclusion of women are also included in the ban, Bonilla said.

Fines collected by those who violate the new ordinance, which is an amendment to the city’s Regulation of Amusements and Public Shows, will go toward violence restoration programs.

The ordinance, spearheaded by Councilwoman Patricia Ulate and passed by the council last Wednesday, will apply to all public shows in the city.

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“Today, another of these harsh realities has motivated reform,” Ulate said last week, Mexico News Daily reported. “Chihuahua is one of the five municipalities in the state with a Gender Alert, declared due to high rates of structural violence against women. Any action that contributes to eradicating these circumstances counts.”

The law does not name any specific artists, nor are there any further details about how it will be enforced.

Two distinctive forms of Mexican music, namely narcocorridos and corridos tumbados, have been associated with violence and the drug trade. The ban imposed in Chihuahua could have repercussions on these genres, which have gained popularity through popular artists like Peso Pluma and Natanael Cano.

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Mexico President Andrés Manuel López Obrador openly voiced his objection to corridos tumbados, citing their association with violence and drug consumption during a press conference. And the Cancún city council also voted to ban narcocorridos from playing during public events in May.

Approximately 10 women lose their lives every day in Mexico. In 2022, data provided by the Executive Secretariat of the National Public Security System reported a total of 3,754 women and girls being murdered.