Sofia “M” was 17 years old and dreamed of following in the footsteps of her parents, who dedicated themselves to graphic design. He had just finished high school at High School 4 of the National Autonomous University of Mexico and already had a place to study at the Faculty of Art and Design, but died after attending his graduation party in Mexico City.
The events occurred on April 9, at the Marvelous bar in the Doctores neighborhood, where students from Prepa 4 came to celebrate. According to the version of a friend of Sofia, a woman offered them a drink inside the establishment and, subsequently, both began to feel bad. For this reason, two other young women who were with them called an ambulance and left the place to wait for medical attention.
The friend who also presented discomfort was hospitalized in the General Hospital of Mexico and has already been discharged. Sofia, on the other hand, died before being admitted. So far, the families of the young women continue to wait to know the substance they ingested in the bar.
On the same day that the events occurred, the Attorney General’s Office of Mexico City (FGJCDMX) initiated an investigation folder under the femicide protocol. However, so far there are no people detained for their possible responsibility in what happened.
The institution reported that the body of the young woman was found “in the streets of the Doctores neighborhood, Cuauhtémoc mayor’s office,” and said that the emergency services transferred her to a public hospital, without having apparent signs of violence. Already in the hospital, “he was admitted without vital signs.”
After the investigation folder was initiated, personnel from the Specialized Prosecutor’s Office for the Investigation of the Crime of Feminicide, the General Coordination of Investigation of Gender Crimes and Attention to Victims, the Investigative Police and the General Coordination of Forensic Investigation and Expert Services carried out proceedings to clarify what happened.
“His family insisted that he go to graduation to have fun”
Gerardo Romero, Sofia’s uncle, describes her as a cheerful young woman committed to the defense of human and animal rights. She was vegan and participated in several feminist collectives, for which she made illustrations that they occupied in calls for marches.
“She is a little girl who lost her mom 10 years ago, who is my first cousin. Since then he has stayed with his two brothers and his father, and he began to paint,” says Gerardo.
Sofia liked the skateboard since she entered Prepa 4. In fact, it was this hobby that brought her together with the three friends she was with at the prom, the last people who were with her.
“At school, I participated in support groups to collect money and food for various causes. She was always donating things, she was a good dessert cook, she sold them among the family and, instead of buying something, she donated it,” says Gerardo.
With sadness, her uncle remembers that Sofia, who identified as a feminist, lived in fear of being a victim of femicide, a situation for which she did not go out to parties.
“His grandmother insisted that he go to graduation to have fun, so did his dad, and look… they didn’t return it home to us anymore. She was the maximum, a girl who had a lot of future and they took her from us in the most horrendous way,” he says in an interview.
On the afternoon of the party, a brother of Sofia was monitoring her location via GPS, as a safety protocol for the young woman. Gerardo even explains that, at approximately 6:30 p.m., her relatives were trying to communicate with her, without success. The next thing they knew, because the authorities of Prepa 4 called them, was that the young woman had died.
The formal notification of his death was made by the hospital before the Public Ministry of the Territorial Investigation Prosecutor’s Office in the Cuauhtémoc mayor’s office. Initially, the ministerial authorities had classified the acts as culpable homicide, but at the insistence of Sofia’s family on the intention to murder her, the case was reclassified to femicide.
“We don’t want it to stay here, we want those responsible”
So far, Gerardo says they have received support from the FGJCDMX and UNAM. However, given the fact that no one responsible for what happened has yet been arrested, Sofia’s family called for a protest on Wednesday at 9:00 a.m., from the Angel of Independence to the Zócalo capital.
“Right now they are supporting us, but we don’t want it to stay here. We want those responsible to pay, because if not this will continue to happen. We want this case to cause an impact that ensures this is not going to fly.see to pass,” he says.
According to figures from the Executive Secretariat of the National Public Security System, in the first two months of 2022, 12 investigation folders were initiated for the crime of femicide in Mexico City.
Last February, the FGJCDMX acknowledged that the beginning of the year was particularly violent and that there was an “atypical uptick” in femicides.
In the report of Progress of the Alert for Violence against Women in Mexico City, the capital authorities reported that, until March 25, 122 cases of risk of femicidal violence were detected.
According to this report, between January and February 12 people were arrested for their probable participation in this crime.
What we do at Animal Político requires professional journalists, teamwork, dialogue with readers and something very important: independence. You can help us keep going. Be part of the team.
Subscribe to Animal Político, receive benefits and support free journalism.#YoSoyAnimal
