Women from HIstory

Mexico City's most famous boulevard, Paseo de la Reforma, is dotted with important monuments such as the Monument to Mexican Independence.

But on either side of the boulevard, along its entire length, there are smaller bronze statues of famous men from Mexican history.  ("Famous" is a relative term, since I have never heard of many of them, even though I have studied Mexican history.  I doubt that most Mexicans know who all of them are.)

Last week when I took the Metrobus down Reforma, I noticed that along one section of the boulevard there were statues of women.  I did a bit of research and discovered that late in 2021 statues of Mexican heroines had been installed along the stretch between the Independence Monument and the entrance to Chapultepec Park.  So, I made a point of going back to Reforma to check out the new statues.

Leona Vicario (1789 - 1842) was one of the first female journalists in Mexico.  She used her large fortune to help finance the war of independence from Spain.  She also worked as a messenger and spy for the insurgents.

Josefa Ortiz de Domínguez (1768 - 1829) is commonly referred to as "La Corregidora" because she was married to the "corregidor" (magistrate) in the city of Querétaro.  She was a supporter of the independence movement, and her home became a meeting place for the conspirators.

  

Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz (1648 - 1695) was a philosopher, writer and poet.  She is considered the greatest poet of the colonial period in the Americas and a forerunner of modern feminism.

Matilde Montoya (1859 - 1939) was the first female physician in Mexico.  She was an advocate of equal educational opportunities for women.

Carmen Serdán (1875 - 1948), along with her brother Aquiles, was a revolutionary opposing the dictatorship of Porfirio Díaz.  In 1910 police attacked their home, killing Aquiles and wounding Carmen.  Carmen was an important voice in the Mexican Revolution.

Sara Peréz Romero (1870 - 1952) was the wife of Francisco Madero, the man who spearheaded the Mexican Revolution against dictator Porfirio Díaz.  She directed her husband's campaign for President and has been called "The First Lady of the Revolution".

Juana Belén Gutiérrez (1875 - 1942) was a feminist activist and journalist who was jailed several times because of her newspaper which opposed the regime of dictator Porfirio Díaz.

Gertrudis Bocanegra (1765 - 1817) served as a messenger for the insurgents during the War for Independence.  She was arrested and tortured by the Spanish.  When she refused to give them the names of other rebels, she was tried for treason and executed before a firing squad.

Margarita Maza was the wife of Mexico's most revered President, Benito Juárez.  She was the daughter of a prominent white family in Oaxaca, and she broke social convention by marrying Juárez, a full-blooded Zapotec.  During her husband's Presidency, Mexico was invaded by the French, and Maximillian von Hapsburg was installed as emperor as a French puppet.  While Juárez led the struggle against the French, Maza went into exile in the United States.  There she served as an unofficial ambassador, meeting with officials including U.S. President Abraham Lincoln.  The U.S. recognized Juárez as the legitimate leader of Mexico.

I certainly applaud these monuments honoring women from Mexico's history.  However, the cynical side of me suspects that their inclusion along Reforma is a gesture to pacify feminists who have been highly critical of the current administration.  The government should be addressing the issue of femicides, rapes and kidnappings in which the perpetrators of these crimes rarely face justice.