On May 13, 2025, 23-year-old TikTok influencer Valeria Marquez, with nearly 200,000 followers, was shot dead during a livestream from a beauty salon in Jalisco, Mexico.
The Jalisco state prosecutor is investigating the killing as a possible femicide, gender-based murder, amid speculation about her ex-boyfriend’s alleged ties to the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, though unverified, per Reuters. Marquez’s death, captured live, triggered outrage but quickly gave way to victim-blaming on social media, with comments suggesting she was involved in “shady business.”
Sociologist Gema Kloppe-Santamaria, speaking to Reuters, noted Mexico’s “societal acceptance” of such killings, where victim-blaming allows people to dismiss cases like Marquez’s, assuming they don’t affect “decent” women.
23-year-old Mexican influencer, Valeria Marquez, was fatally shot on Tuesday while livestreaming on TikTok.
We look at how rampant femicide is in Latin America and the Caribbean https://t.co/HBx2CiJ2tb pic.twitter.com/TInO0Bmpjz
— Al Jazeera English (@AJEnglish) May 16, 2025Social media posts echoed this, condemning the narrative that Marquez “had it coming.” Anayeli Perez of the National Citizens’ Observatory on Femicide told Reuters the media cycle moves on quickly, reflecting a fraying social fabric.
Femicide Crisis in Mexico
Mexico recorded 852 femicides in 2023, per the UN Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean, with Jalisco among the most violent states, logging 910 homicides since October 2024, per TResearch. High-profile cases like Ingrid Escamilla (2020), Fatima Cecilia Aldrighett (2020), and Debanhi Escobar (2022) highlight systemic failures, with investigations often marred by negligence, as Perez noted.
Read: Mexican Influencer Valeria Márquez Killed During TikTok Live
President Claudia Sheinbaum, Mexico’s first female leader, announced on May 15 that the national security cabinet is aiding the investigation and urged the public not to share Marquez’s livestream out of respect. However, Perez criticised the system’s ongoing issues, including untrained prosecutors and police lacking a gender perspective.
Marquez’s burial on May 15, marked by white roses, underscores the fleeting outrage over femicides. Her case reignites calls for systemic reform to address Mexico’s gender-based violence crisis and challenge victim-blaming narratives.
