Mexico kicked off Independence Day celebrations on Monday night with President Claudia Sheinbaum ending a more than century-long practice in which only men as chief executives led the country’s most important celebration.

Before tens of thousands of people gathered in the main square of the Mexican capital, Sheinbaum shouted from one of the balconies of the Government Palace. “Long live the dignity of the Mexican people! Long live freedom! Long live equality! Long live democracy! Long live justice! Long live a free, independent, and sovereign Mexico!” the president said in a brief message, met with applause and shouts from the audience, who echoed her cheers.

Shortly after, Sheinbaum rang the bell of the historic palace to commemorate the 215th anniversary of Mexico’s independence from Spain, which was followed by the ringing of the bells of the capital’s cathedral and the singing of the national anthem.

Every year, the call to arms - known as the “Cry of Independence” - made by the priest Miguel Hidalgo in 1810, beginning a struggle that culminated in 1821, is commemorated. The traditional celebration has been maintained since the beginning of the 19th century, but it wasn’t until 1880 that politicians introduced the ringing of bells and cheers.

“The fact that it’s a woman who gives the cry does represent a substantial change,” Alfredo Ávila, a researcher at the Institute of Historical Research at the National Autonomous University of Mexico, told The Associated Press, acknowledging that the celebration has been “very patriarchal” for years.

Although the 63-year-old scientist and former mayor of the capital ushered in a new era as the first female president on Oct. 1, politician Griselda Álvarez, former governor of the western state of Colima, is remembered as the first Mexican to cry out for independence in 1980 after becoming the first woman elected governor in Mexico, Ávila said.

With fireworks, musical performances, rallies, and military parades, the historic date is commemorated across the country. Mexican families celebrate at home by eating traditional dishes such as “pozole,” a broth made from corn kernels, and chiles en nogada, made from a poblano chile stuffed with ground beef and pork, mixed with fruits and spices, and topped with a creamy walnut sauce.

The violence affecting vast regions of the country forced authorities in several municipalities in the western state of Michoacán and the northwestern state of Sinaloa to suspend mass independence celebrations on Monday. Sinaloa Gov. Rubén Rocha announced that there would only be one civic event with the participation of all three branches of government and the armed forces.

For a year, Sinaloa has been mired in violence due to the fierce fighting between two factions of the Sinaloa cartel, which has left hundreds dead.

Source: AP
--Agencies