When the levels of violence that we experience in México are so high,
a campaign that alludes to the death of women is not needed, not
in name or in cosmetics.
Lucia Lagunes Huerta
Photo: Amnesty International
Human rights organizations lashed out at MAC due to their insensitive Juárez themed cosmetics.
Saying sorry is not enough. That’s the message Mexican human rights and
women’s activists are sending to the US-based cosmetics company MAC. At a
México City press conference last week, activists announced a boycott of
MAC to protest the trendy company’s unveiling last month of a new product
line that stirred memories of the Ciudad Juárez women’s murders.
In flashy form, the lipsticks and nail polishes were dubbed Ghost Town,
Quinceañera, Factory, and Juárez, among others.
It should be remembered that many of the femicide victims were teenagers
and/or employees of maquiladora plants that assemble goods for export to
the US and other foreign nations. MAC’s border-theme fashion roll-out
whipped up a storm of controversy, and prompted the company to issue an
apology.
“We are deeply sorry and apologize to everyone we offended, especially the
victims, the women and girls of Juárez and their families,” said MAC
President John Demsey in a statement posted on the company’s Facebook
page. “We have heard the response of concerned global citizens loud and
clear and are doing our very best to right our wrong.”
After a meeting with the federal government’s National Commission for the
Eradication of Violence against Women (CONAVIM) and other Mexican
officials late last month, MAC representatives pledged to donate money to
help the cause against gender violence.
“We know that we caused damage, we offended and we recognize it,” said
Miguel Franco, MAC director for México. Franco said it wasn’t his firm’s
goal to exploit the Ciudad Juárez violence. To the contrary, he said, MAC
sought to raise social and environmental consciousness.
MAC’s retractions and promises did not satisfy the México-based Citizens
Council for Gender Equity in Communications Media. Lourdes Barbosa,
council president, dismissed MAC’s actions as a marketing ploy to expand
sales.
“The use of violence against women to
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