Like the main character in ‘Roma,’ she worked in homes for decades. Now she’s fighting for domestic workers

Marcelina Bautista, general director of the Center for Support and Training of Household Employees, center, visits with attendees before speaking at a labor rights conference for domestic workers in Mexico City in February. Marcelina Bautista wept the first time she watched “Roma,” the Oscar-nominated drama about a domestic worker’s complicated relationship with the family that employs her. And then there is the cultural moment spawned by “Roma,” which has drawn new attention to the plight of domestic workers in Mexico while sparking difficult discussions about class and race. Adrian Escamilla Palafox, left, director of ICAT, Norma Palacio Trabamau, general secretary, and Marcelina Bautista, right, general director of the Center for Support and Training of Household Employees, gather before speaking at a labor rights conference Palacio’s parents had been domestic workers — her mother a housekeeper, her father a gardener.