The Women’s March of El Paso (WMEP) announced it will “not coordinate a Women’s March this month” through a Facebook post. 

Women’s March is a global movement and is expected to happen on Saturday, Jan. 18 in cities around the world. The first march happened three years ago on Jan. 21, a day after President Donald Trump’s inauguration, with the commitment to “dismantle systems of oppression through nonviolent resistance” according to Women’s March’s mission statement.   

Monique Navarro, founder of WMEP, told The Prospector that the organization strives to be purposeful in its actions.  

“(We) realized that we need to focus our energy on actions with more impact,” Navarro said. “It is not enough to march for a day and go back to business as usual — we must do more.” 

In the Facebook post, WMEP included different ways in which the community can engage with the cause, such as donating money to “worthy campaigns” and volunteering time to campaigns that “will advance collective cause.” 

“Legislation that impacts women, like the Violence Against Women Act, and future debates on Roe v. Wade must be met with representatives that align with our values,” Navarro said. “The only way to ensure that we are able to elect those representatives is to focus on educating the public and encouraging our supporters and allies to join us in taking direct action that moves the needle in the 2020 election.” 

While there are no current plans of a march being organized later this year, Navarro touched on the possibility of one being held in 2021. 

“We will always support new and diverse organizers in their efforts,” Navarro said. 

Marisol Chávez may be reached at [email protected]