Camila Lobato
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Camila Dessirée Lobato Canseco (born February 27, 1988), also known simply as Lobato, is a Mejican politician, activist, and the former leader of the now-dissolved Popular Progressive Party (PPP). As the leader of the PPP throughout the Mejican-Central American War, Lobato was an instrumental figure in the opposition for most of 2023. Arrested on November 17, 2023, and imprisoned since then, she has since become a symbol of the resistance against what many see as the authoritarianism of Emperor Agustín VI and President Gabriel Quadri.
Born to a middle-class family in Laredo, Tamaulipas, Lobato was the first of three daughters. In 2006, she enrolled at Incarnate Word University in San Antonio de Béjar and graduated with a degree in International Affairs. Since high school, she had campaigned against the presidency of Diego Fernández de Cevallos and his management of the Chiapas Conflict, and joined the PPP's chapter at Incarnate Word, where she reportedly had multiple altercations with the MURO anti-Communist student organization. Lobato rapidly became a notorious student activist, and she was known for her oratory skills.
Her political career began as a legal aide in the National Commission of Human Rights, where she worked on issues related to social justice and marginalized communities. In 2012, Lobato was first elected as a deputy in the Chamber of Deputies, representing the 2nd district of Tamaulipas. She served as a deputy for another three terms, being victorious in the 2015, 2017, and 2020 elections, leading a campaign focused on social reform and education accessibility. During her later years in the Chamber of Deputies, she was catapulted into the national spotlight after her speeches within the Chamber became viral online.
In December 2021, she competed against Gabino Nanclares for the leadership of the PPP, winning the position in a highly contested election marked by growing internal factionalism. Under Lobato's leadership, the PPP embraced a more radical platform that championed populist ideals and called for aggressive reforms to the government. Lobato's victory in the internal leadership election caused the break of Nanclares and of the "old guard", who moved on to found the Movement for Democratic Rebirth, effectively splitting the opposition vote. Lobato's tenure as party leader was characterized by her confrontational style and determination to unify various leftist factions against the increasingly authoritarian measures implemented by the Mejican government.
In the midst of the Mejican-Central American War, Lobato repeatedly demanded a stop to the conflict, but her motions within the Chamber of Deputies were repeatedly shut down, criticized as "theatrical and hysterical" by President of the Chamber, Gerardo Lehmann. Eventually, as protests broke out in September 2023, she was key in mobilizing the opposition against the government's military actions in Central America. Lobato organized nationwide protests, emphasizing the atrocities committed against civilians and demanding accountability for the Mejican government and for its generals. The culmination of her efforts arrived on November 16, 2023, when Lobato called for a massive demonstration in the Zócalo, but the protest quickly degenerated into violence as tensions between protestors and the National Gendarmerie escalated.
Emperor Agustín VI ordered her arrest on the basis of "anti-Mejican activities", and Lobato was apprehended by the National Gendarmerie on November 17, 2023, at the Méjico-Cortés International Airport along with several other PPP leaders. The crackdown on dissent included the dissolution of the PPP just two days later; these measures were justified by the Mejican government as necessary to maintain national security. Since then, Lobato has been imprisoned at the Black Palace of Lecumberri in Mejico City. Despite calls for her release and international protests, the Mejican government has asserted that Lobato's rhetoric and actions are a threat to public order and the nation's stability. The detention sparked widespread condemnation from various human rights organizations, including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, which labeled her imprisonment as politically motivated and called for her immediate release.