TRANSCRIPT:
It should have been a five-minute time-saving walk from Mexico’s National Palace to the Education Ministry for President Claudia Sheinbaum.
But it's now become a stomach-churning viral moment, after a drunk man appeared to grope the president.
A video circulating widely on social platforms shows the man approaching the president from the side, putting his arm around her, attempting to kiss her - and then trying to grab her breasts from behind before being pushed away by an officer.
Mexico City Mayor Clara Brugada says the man has been arrested.
President Sheinbaum has used her daily press briefing to say that she is pressing charges over the harassment - which she has condemned.
"We decided to walk. Many people greeted us along the way without any problems until this totally drunk person approached us."
The incident has raised questions about the president’s security and how the man was able to have such close contact without being immediately stopped.
Like her predecessor Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, she travels with minimal security and makes herself widely available to the public.
Her security detail did not appear to be near her when the man approached.
President Sheinbaum has dismissed any suggestion that she will increase her security or change how she interacts with people, a position that some Mexicans - like cleaning worker Rosa Rosas - don't agree with.
"What happened was wrong, and President Sheinbaum trusts people too much. There are a lot of bad people out there. It’s not right for her to do that."
Some have expressed scepticism about the incident - including social worker Emeline Martinez.
"She has security, and it would be very painful and embarrassing if they used that situation to try to divert attention from the important issues. All we are asking is that she address the real issues."
But by and large, the brief clip has given the daily harassment and assaults that women suffer in Mexico their highest-profile platform.
According to United Nations data, around 70 percent of Mexican women aged 15 and over will experience at least one incident of sexual harassment in their lives.
Flower worker Melissa Escutia says the President's experience has underscored for many in Mexico the insecurity women face in a country steeped in machismo and gender-based violence.
"Not even as president, holding such a high position, being who she is, is she free from the harassment that we women face every day. I mean, it’s incredible that men just can’t seem to control themselves, right? To simply respect us – I don’t think that’s such a hard thing to do."
Feminist activists have long criticised President Sheinbaum for insufficient action on violence against women, pointing to weak prosecutions of femicides.
Mexico recorded 821 femicides in 2024, with 501 reported through September this year - numbers advocates say are likely underestimated.
The President has called on states to look at their laws and procedures to make it easier for women to report assaults, saying she is committed to defending all Mexican women.
"Sexual harassment is not a criminal offense in all states of the Republic but it is in Mexico City. And my reflection is if I don't report it as a crime, besides being a crime, in what condition are all Mexican women left in if they do this to the President? What will happen to all the young women in our country?"
