A man has been arrested for allegedly groping and trying to kiss Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum as she greeted supporters in the country’s capital.

The incident occurred on Tuesday as Sheinbaum walked to an event near the presidential palace, shaking hands and taking pictures with people along the way, videos on social media showed.

The man approached Sheinbaum, put his arm around her shoulder and with the other hand, touched her hip and chest while attempting to kiss her neck. A member of the presidential security detail pulled away the man, who appeared to be under the influence of drugs or alcohol.

Despite his behaviour, Sheinbaum treated the man politely, agreeing to take a picture with him, then patting him on the back.

Security authorities later reported that the man had been arrested.

The head of Mexico’s Ministry of Women — a department created by Sheinbaum – commented on the incident.

“We condemn the act that our president experienced today,” Minister Citlali Hernandez said in a post on X that also slammed what she called macho attitudes that normalise unwelcome intrusions on women’s personal space and bodies.

The events highlight a latent problem in Mexico. Some 70 per cent of Mexican women aged 15 and over experience at least one incident of sexual harassment in their lives, according to data from UN Women.