Mexican lawmakers were filmed shoving each other and pulling hair on the floor of Congress in Mexico City on Monday.
The viral video shows women lawmakers of rival parties jostling for position at a podium in the front of the chamber. The women’s argument escalates from shouts to pushing and ultimately to pulling each other’s hair as other lawmakers try to intervene.
The scene took place during debate over reforms to Mexico City’s transparency oversight agency. Members of the right-leaning National Action Party (PAN) were protesting conduct by the left-leaning Moreno Party, which is the controlling power.
PAN representatives were holding their position at the podium as members of the Moreno Party tried to remove them, leading to the scuffle. Both parties condemned the violence after the incident, but blamed their opponents for starting it.
‘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,’ PAN aide Andres Atayde said at a press conference following the incident, according to a translation from the Economic Times.
‘Not only is it vulgar, not only is it aggressive, but it is lamentable that this is the majority governing party for this city,’ PAN lawmaker Daniela Alvarez added.
Morena spokesman Paulo Garcia made similar claims about conduct by PAN lawmakers.
‘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,’ Garcia later said in an interview with Mexican media.