Paco Navarrete Ordered to Apologize for Gender Political Violence for Cartoon
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The Electoral Tribunal (Guadalajara, Mexico) has ordered journalist and cartoonist Paco Navarrete to post an apology on his social media accounts for 15 days for a satirical image published in February 2025 criticizing comments made by a female local legislator. He will also been added to a registry of those who have committed political violence against women.
The complaint against the long-time Mural newspaper cartoonist was filed by Itzul Barrera. She alleged that the image violated Mexico’s laws meant to protect women’s ability participate politically without interference based on gender. In an interview with El Universal, she alleges that Navarrete sought out an image from her Instagram account “where my legs are fully visible … he takes a photo of me, of my body, and labels it ‘di-puta-da’.” In the print edition the title of the cartoon hyphenated the word “disputada” creating “disputa-” on one line. The word “puta” is a sexually vulgar term roughly translated as “whore” or “slut.”
The court ruled in favor of the politician. From El Pais:
“The Electoral Tribunal ruled that the congresswoman’s photo, despite being available online, ‘bears no relation to her performance in the public sphere,’ and that using it ‘sexualizes and objectifies’ her while disregarding ‘her intellectual and personal qualities and abilities.’ The magistrates sanctioned Navarrete for using the image in a ‘cartoon of a critical nature, particularly when the intent is to undermine a person’s political and electoral rights… an image that, in this specific case, was introduced into political discourse without any actual connection to the issues at hand, but rather to portray her as having lesser worth simply because she is a woman, and to diminish her professionalism regarding the holding of public office.'”
On the charge of the hyphenated “disputada” word, Navarrete argues the it was not intentional. On his X account posted yesterday he wrote:
The print edition has limited space, so the word is automatically hyphenated according to RAE rules. The online version lacks this constraint; it is larger, so the word appears in full. Had there been any “subliminal” intent, the word would have been split in both versions.
Navarrete also contests the process. In an interview with El Tiempo he says while the case took a year and a half, he received “notification just three days before the deadline to present his defense.” He also maintains this case was “act of intimidation and a form of press censorship” and that his cartoon “made the political class uncomfortable—a class that lives in its own bubble and opines on matters it knows nothing about,” according to an interview with El Universal.
Mexico’s gender-based political violence laws are meant to address challenges women face politics such as: threats, intimidation, and discrimination. Critics maintain the laws are being weaponized to deter journalism and commentary.
Fellow cartoonists Chavo del Toro and Angel Boligan have come to his defense with their own cartoons:
In the interview with El Pais, Navarrete says he will comply with the ruling.
“I intend to comply with the ruling. I’m a working journalist; I don’t have the resources, energy, or time to keep fighting this—I have to focus on making a living. I want to turn the page, but that doesn’t mean I agree with the decision, or that I fail to see the barrage of attacks against journalists, commentators, and even meme creators.”
Editor’s note: All quotes above were translated via Google Translate
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