A physical altercation erupted Monday among women lawmakers in the Mexico City Congress, with the clash broadcast live as they pulled hair and exchanged punches.
The scuffle began when legislators from the right-wing National Action Party (PAN) moved toward the chamber's main podium to protest what they claimed was a procedural violation by the ruling leftist Morena party, which holds a majority in the legislature, as reported by AFP.
The debate involved reforming the city government's transparency oversight agency, according to local media reports.
Video from the incident shows at least five lawmakers from both parties arguing intensely, with members elbowing, slapping, and pulling each other's hair in an attempt by Morena lawmakers to physically remove the PAN members from the podium, despite their refusal to move.
“We took the podium peacefully, without touching anyone, and the decision made by the majority legislative group and its allies was to try and regain control of the board through violence,” Andres Atayde, an aide for the PAN representatives, told a press conference after the incident.
Daniela Alvarez, one of the PAN lawmakers who approached the podium, told reporters, “Not only is it vulgar, not only is it aggressive, but it is lamentable that this is the majority governing party for this city.”
Following the altercation, PAN lawmakers walked out of the chamber, and the Morena-led majority continued the debate in the absence of the opposition, according to posts shared on the Congress of Mexico City’s social media accounts.
"What worries us a lot is how the opposition is systematically resorting to violence instead of arguments, in the absence of being able to debate," Morena spokesman Paulo Garcia later told broadcaster Milenio, AFP reported.
