Mexican activist and mother of autistic boy dies after being set on fire

 

The case is being investigated as a possible femicide and one of the neighbours of the victim has been held over threats in connection with previous incidents.

Friends and family, carrying flowers and purple balloons, accompanied Luz Raquel Padilla's coffin during a wake at which the priest appealed for an end to violence against women. (AP)

A Mexican activist and mother of an autistic child has died after being set on fire, authorities have said, sparking protests, condemnation and demands for justice.

Luz Raquel Padilla, 35, was doused in alcohol by three men and a woman and set alight in a park in Zapopan in Jalisco state, prosecutor Luis Joaquin Mendez said on Thursday, citing witnesses.

Padilla, part of the caregivers' rights group "I take care of Mexico", died in a hospital on Tuesday after suffering burns on 90 percent of her body. The case is being investigated as a possible femicide, prosecutors said. 

One of Padilla's neighbours was arrested for causing injuries, making threats and crimes against a person's dignity in connection with previous incidents, Mendez said.

Padilla had accused the man in May of threats and writing graffiti with messages including "I'm going to burn you alive" on the walls of the building where they lived.

On Thursday, prosecutors filed charges against the neighbour in connection with those threats. He has not been charged with femicide for now, and according to witnesses was not present at the time of Saturday's attack.

Years previously, she had also been a victim of abuse by her ex-partner. 

Calls for justice

Dozens of women demonstrated in front of the Zapopan police station on Thursday, accusing the authorities of inaction and indifference.

"Justice for Luz and justice for her son!" demanded Guadalupe Ortega, 62, a member of the Insurgent Women's Network, a group of caregivers for people with special needs.

Norma Villanueva, an activist with the group, said Padilla's neighbours were not accepting of her son Bruno, who has autism.

"Society has zero tolerance... they do not accept children with special needs. Let justice be done for Luz and her child," Villanueva told reporters.

Padilla's death came even though she was living under protection measures.

President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said the case reflected a "loss of values" that "was promoted in the neoliberal period", referring to the time before he took office.

"We condemn the murder of #care activist Luz Raquel Padilla in #Jalisco, as well as any form of violence against people who defend women's human rights and fight against gender-based violence," UN Women Mexico wrote on Twitter.

In Mexico, an average of 10 women are murdered daily, according to official figures. Many of these cases bear the hallmarks of gender-based violence.

Source: AFP 

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(With input from news agency language)

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