The Phrase “Ni una mujer menos, ni una muerte más” or “not one women less, not one more death was coined by human rights activist, Susana Chávez Castillo to protest the unsolved murders in Ciudad Juárez. This phrase has inspired grassroots movements across Latin America to use the phrase to condemn gender-based violence. The #NiUnaMenos movement began as a direct response in 2015 to the murder of a fourteen-year-old girl named Chiara Paez. In 2016, this movement organized Latin America’s first women-led mass strike which inspired several other countries to hold similar demonstrations.

Feminist activism in Latin America has been prevalent for several decades and has led to various policy responses. In 1981, the first Latin American and Caribbean Feminist Encuentro was created where feminists gathered together to network and mobilize. This gathering created what has become the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against women. In the 1990s, feminist activists successfully advocated for the Convention of Belém do Pará which was a turning point in the fight for gender equality. Since then, many countries in Latin America have developed legislation that criminalizes femicide and other forms of gender-based violence. 

The #NiUnaMenos feminist movement has achieved some notable policy victories specifically in its home country of Argentina. In 2015, the Argentine government mandated the collection and publication of national femicide statistics and required the development of women’s shelters. In 2019, the Argentine government established the Ministry for Women, Gender, and Diversity intending to end gender-based violence and strengthen women’s and LGBTQ+ rights.