More than 100 people were injured and 20 arrested on Saturday during a massive protest in Mexico City against the Mexican president’s handling of violent crime, local government officials said.
Thousands marched on the capital’s historic main public square, the Zocalo, in a demonstration fueled by young Mexicans with ties to a global wave of Gen Z protests as well as supporters of the domestic “Sombrero movement,” which emerged after the recent assassination of a mayor known for his fight against organized crime.
Participants of all ages took part in the rally in front of the Mexican National Palace, where Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum lives and works.
Photo: Reuters
Several protesters, some wearing balaclavas, toppled the metal barriers protecting the palace and threw paving stones at riot police, who responded with tear gas.
“For many hours, this mobilization proceeded and developed peacefully, until a group of hooded individuals began to commit acts of violence,” Pablo Vazquez, Mexico City’s security chief, told reporters.
Twenty protesters and 100 police were injured, with 40 officers hospitalized for cuts and bruises, he added.
Police arrested 20 people for theft and assault, Vazquez said, adding that they also launched an investigation into the assault of a journalist from La Jornada newspaper, which alleged police officers were behind the incident.
Sheinbaum, in power since October last year, maintained approval ratings above 70 percent in her first year in office, but faced growing criticism of her security policies in the wake of several high-profile murders.
“This is one of the most corrupt governments we’ve ever had,” said Valentina Ramirez, a student. “It’s a corrupt narco-government that wants to defend the corrupt and the cartels instead of the people.”
On Saturday, several protesters wore sombreros similar to the style of hat made famous by Carlos Manzo, a mayor in western Michoacan state who was assassinated on Nov. 1. He had been known for his crusade against drug-trafficking gangs in his hometown Uruapan.
However, the assassinated mayor’s widow distanced her husband’s movement from the demonstration on Saturday.
Bernardo Bravo, a leader of lime producers in the same region, had also been shot dead late last month.
Earlier this week, Sheinbaum questioned the motivations for the demonstration and said at her regular morning news conference that the protest was “inorganic” and “paid for.”
“It is a movement promoted from abroad against the government,” she said.
Demonstrators displayed banners bearing messages such as “We are all Carlos Manzo” alongside the iconic pirate flag from the Japanese manga One Piece, which has become a symbol of youth protest around the world, from Madagascar to the Philippines and Peru.
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