The winner of Miss Universe 2025, Fátima Bosch, responded through her Instagram account to the hateful messages that have reached her in recent days, since she was crowned in the beauty pageant held in Thailand. “Thank God, my values and self-esteem are strong, and this does not bring me down. Today I want to raise my voice not as a beauty queen, but as a woman. A woman who, like millions of people around the world, has experienced firsthand the violence that arises from hatred, misinformation and the inability of some to see a woman shine without feeling threatened. Even if these attacks hurt, they do not define me”, we read in the publications.
Fátima Bosch’s victory at Miss Universe 2025 has become a controversial topic. The link between Raúl Rocha Cantú, president of the beauty pageant, and Petróleos Mexicanos (Pemex), has cast doubt on the legitimacy of the Mexican’s coronation. In her morning press conference Monday, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum denied the plot and downplayed the allegations. “There’s a lot of desperation, don’t you think?” he told reporters who asked him about the matter.
Bosch uploaded screenshots of the messages he received: “I hope you die tomorrow”, “You deserve to be killed”, “How disgusting you are and what great courage you have”, “I wish you bad karma for life, Fatima”, “Dad buys the crown for his daughter”. The list goes on. That said, he wrote a long message that took up six Instagram stories. “What defines me is my strength, my integrity and the love I have for my country. Today I am here to say something with absolute clarity: no attack will bring me to my knees, no insult can extinguish my purpose.” The woman from Tabasco also took the opportunity to thank those who supported her along the way. “His light sustains me. His trust guides me. His affection reminds me that I am not alone.”
After the accusations of fraud following the victory of the Tabasco woman last November 21, both the president of Miss Universe, Raúl Rocha Cantú, and Bosch herself were put at the center of public attention due to the links that the Miss Universe father has with Petróleos Mexicanos (Pemex), a company from which Rocha Cantú received an offer of over 740 million pesos in 2023.
The complaint became a scandal when, on the eve of the competition final, two of the eight members of the jury decided to resign. One of them, the French-Lebanese musician Omar Harfouch, explained through his Instagram account that an improvised jury was formed to select the 30 finalists from 120 participating countries. “These are people with a significant conflict of interest.”
These notes were uploaded as part of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, created to commemorate the murder of the activists Patria, Minerva and María Teresa Mirabal, who in 1960 were tortured and thrown into a ravine to simulate a road accident. This event occurred during the rule of dictator Rafael Leónidas Trujillo in the Dominican Republic. Since 1999, the UN has declared the day of her death to denounce all the violence that women suffer daily.
