The #MeToo Movement has arrived in Mexico.

Last week, a young activist tweeted that an esteemed writer had beaten or raped more than 10 women, with her post inspiring hundreds of others to speak out about violence and harassment in their industries.

Ana G. González, a 29-year-old political communications consultant, tweeted on March 21 that Herson Barona had “beaten, manipulated, gaslighted, impregnated, and abandoned (on more than one occasion) more than 10 women.” While she didn’t experience the violence firsthand, she said that women had asked her to speak out on their behalf.

Este hombre, a quien 54 de ustedes siguen, tiene una lista inmensa de mujeres que han salido a denunciar que las golpeó. Por lo menos una de ellas es una persona de mi círculo cercano. Si no sabían, se vale. Pero ahora que saben, no se junten con golpeadores. pic.twitter.com/mQM90mCzoO

— ana gé. (@anag_g) March 21, 2019

Va la historia: un hombre “poderoso” en el círculo literario ha golpeado, manipulado, gaslighteado, embarazado y abandonado (en más de una ocasión) a más de 10 mujeres. Pero como es un escritor “renombrado”, nadie le cree a estas mujeres.

— ana gé. (@anag_g) March 22, 2019

“I knew several women that were just too afraid and not ready to come forth, but allowed me to speak for them and name this person,” González told the New York Times.

Barona denied the accusations, saying “I understand that there is collective pain surrounding the real cases of so many beaten, raped and murdered women” and “unfortunately, in public scorn there is little space for discussion, clarity or conciliation.”

pic.twitter.com/NxSbT8tEKR

— Herson Barona (@viajerovertical) March 23, 2019

His response didn’t slow down the derision he, and others who have been recently been accused of gender violence and harassment, received on the social network, however.

@FrancoGalloR fue mi pareja nueve años y hasta hace dos. Mismos en los que recibí menosprecios, maltrato físico y psicológico. Llegando a escupirme, a sacarme de su casa a empujones a horas de la madrugada. Manipulando toda la verdad. #MeTooJalisco

— Karina Chávez Carrillo (@KarinaCCarrillo) March 27, 2019

Como ex reportera de @Reforma y mujer periodista me indigna que esta persona siga trabajando ahí, @JEPardinas. Esperamos una acción al respecto. ¿O vas a proteger a este acosador al igual que tu antecesor? @periodistasPUM #MeTooPeriodistasMexicanos https://t.co/EoBLaSZ5IT

— Myrna I. Martínez (@myrnaitze) March 28, 2019

Si es mi amigo pero es tu agresor, voy a creerte y apoyarte a ti.

Si es mi familiar pero es tu agresor, voy a creerte y apoyarte a ti.

Si es mi pareja pero es tu agresor, voy a creerte y apoyarte a ti.

Si me ha ayudado pero es tu agresor, voy a creerte y apoyarte a ti.

— Cristina (@cristinavll) January 22, 2019

Since González’s tweet, more allegations have followed under the hashtag #MeTooEscritores, where women are sharing their stories of abuse in film, academia, the nonprofit sector, business, law, theater, medicine, politics and more.

Some women, fearing a backlash from their jobs or their perpetrator, are speaking anonymously or not sharing their attacker’s name. But others, who shared details in their accounts, have caught the attention of the attorney general’s office in the state of Michoacán, which is investigating information published on social media by a network of journalists that “includes acts that Mexican laws consider as crimes.”

Denunciar a los hombres que nos violentan es de lo más difícil que hay en el mundo #MeTooEscritoresMexicanos #MeTooMx

No se confundan, *el anonimato es un derecho.* Y no lo digo yo, sino @davidakaye: Relator Especial sobre Libertad de Expresión en la ONU https://t.co/0ZBRDGQM4v pic.twitter.com/eMeeKLBISp

— Gisela Pérez de Acha (@giselilla) March 28, 2019

Last year, during the height of the #MeToo movement in the US, Mexican actress Karla Souza, famous for her role as Laurel Castillo on the US legal drama television series How to Get Away With Murder, disclosed that she was raped by a director while working in Mexico. She chose to not share the name of her aggressor, which incited skepticism and criticism from many, sending a message to those who might have wanted to open up about their experience with workplace violence or harassment that they, too, could risk similar reprisal.

“When you see how these women have been treated publicly, it makes perfect sense many victims want to protect themselves by staying anonymous,” González said. “Let’s just hope this time it will be different.”

Read: Twitter Is On Fire With The ‘Me Too’ Hashtag And Latinas Refuse To Be Forgotten

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Indigenous languages are often characterized as archaic, a connection to a past life, certainly not thriving cultures and communities that exist in a modern society. But this mentality isn’t just wrong; it’s also dangerous.

In a powerful speech delivered by Mixe author Yásnaya Aguilar to Mexico’s Congress last month, the writer explains that in the country, where indigenous languages are largely viewed as backwards, the state has killed off certain tongues.

“Our languages don’t die out, they’re killed off,” she said. “The Mexican state has erased them with its singular thinking, its [promotion of] a single culture, a single state. It was Mexico that took our Indigenous languages, [Mexico] erases and silences us. Even though the laws have changed, it continues to discriminate against us within its educational, health, and judicial systems.”

According to Aguilar, known for works like “Nosotros sin México: Naciones Indígenas y Autonomía” and “#Ayuujk: ¿Lenguas Útiles y Lenguas Inútiles,” by making Spanish, a language forced on the people of the region five centuries ago by Spain, the most important tongue of the nation, the state has created a culture where language discrimination can flourish.

“Languages are important, but their speakers are even more important,” she added. “Languages die because their speakers are subjected to discrimination and violence.”

For Aguilar, the country would thrive if it recognized the beauty and strengths, rather than challenges, that come with a multicultural society.

“Being Mexican is a legal status, it’s not a cultural status,” she added.

Watch Aguilar’s thoughtful speech in its entirety in the video above.

(h/t Remezcla)

Read: This Latina Is Saving The Indigenous Peruvian Language One Computer Game At A Time

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