70-year-old Woman Camped in the Street Says Protest is Not About Water

A 70-year-old woman who has spent more than a day planted outside the Palacio de Gobierno in downtown Mérida says the state has misunderstood her protest, and that she will not leave until President Claudia Sheinbaum hears her out.

Josefina Ramos González, known to onlookers as doña Josefina, first drew attention over an unpaid water bill, then over a widow’s pension. On Friday, she said neither was the real issue.

“I am asking for my medical care and my medications,” she said. “I have osteoarthritis, there is no medicine, they have to give me injections and there is no medicine. The medicine costs 6,000 pesos.”

From a water bill to the Plaza Grande

According to the state government’s timeline, doña Josefina approached Gov. Joaquín Díaz Mena on Wednesday, Oct. 14, after an event at the state sports institute. He listened to her case and referred it to the Citizen Services office.

On Thursday morning, she went to the offices of the Junta de Agua Potable y Alcantarillado de Yucatán (Yucatán Water and Sewer Board), known as Japay, saying her water had been cut off over a debt. When a commercial manager offered to meet with her, she insisted on speaking only with the agency’s director.

Later that day, she moved to the Government Palace and set up in front of the building, this time protesting a widow’s pension owed by the ISSSTE, the federal institute that provides social security to government workers.

Around 5 p.m., Japay Director Francisco Torres Rivas told her the 500-peso debt had been forgiven and promised to build a well at her home so she would always have water. She declined to go home and asked to speak with the governor.

State says the case is closed

On Friday, the state government said all three of her requests had been resolved. Officials said ISSSTE had already approved and paid her pension, with five years of back payments, before the protest began. The water debt forgiveness was put in writing Friday, and Japay crews began work on the well that morning.

“I have attended to her in person. Her pension is already resolved by the ISSSTE and her debt was forgiven. We will keep following up,” Díaz Mena said at his daily security briefing. He offered to speak with her by phone Friday morning, but she said she would speak only with the president.

The government stressed that no force had been used and that no one had asked her to leave. Paramedics have orders to remain on site until she goes home, whether in extreme heat or heavy rain. Psychiatrists from the state Secretaría de Salud (Health Ministry) are also available, though she has repeatedly declined their help. Staff from DIF Yucatán, the family welfare agency, remain in contact with her relatives.

Supporters close Calle 61

Doña Josefina sits in the open air with a chair, a hand fan and food brought by sympathizers. Most of those keeping her company are women, who help her into the palace restrooms when needed. When heavy rain falls, she moves her chair under the palace arcade, then returns to Calle 61 once it stops.

On Friday, two activists joined her and announced they would stand guard with her to keep pressure on authorities. About five others joined, saying they face similar problems. With their backing, she closed Calle 61, which had been reopened to traffic, and demanded it stay closed until she leaves.

The scene has drawn a steady stream of curious passersby in the Centro Histórico, some asking questions, others taking photos, and a few posing with the woman whose protest went viral on social media.

Sheinbaum began a regional tour Friday in Chetumal, Quintana Roo, with stops scheduled in Yucatán and Campeche. No word on whether the protestor will be included on the president’s itinerary.

• Who: Josefina Ramos González, 70
• Where: Palacio de Gobierno, Calle 61, Centro Histórico, Mérida
• Began: Thursday, Oct. 15
• Original complaints: 500-peso water debt with Japay; widow’s pension from the ISSSTE
• State response: Debt forgiven, well under construction, pension paid with five years retroactive
• Current demand: Medical care and osteoarthritis medication costing 6,000 pesos; a hearing with President Sheinbaum

Sources: La Jornada Maya, Government of Yucatán