Thousands of Gen Z protesters filled the streets of Mexico City as nationwide demonstrations against corruption and drug violence turned violent over the weekend. More than 120 people were injured as clashes broke out between demonstrators and riot police.
The protests began Saturday in Zócalo Plaza, where Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum’s office is located. What started as a peaceful gathering escalated when protesters threw rocks at police, and officers responded with shields, batons, and fire extinguishers to push back the crowd, according to The Guardian. Demonstrators also knocked down metal fencing surrounding the National Palace, where Sheinbaum resides.
“For many hours, this mobilisation proceeded and developed peacefully, until a group of hooded individuals began to commit acts of violence,” Mexico City security chief Pablo Vázquez said.
Vázquez reported that 100 police officers were injured, with 40 requiring hospital treatment. Twenty protesters were also hurt.
In Guadalajara, Mexico’s second-largest city, authorities detained 47 people and reported 13 injuries, including three officers.
Though President Sheinbaum maintains high approval ratings, she has faced growing criticism after several high-profile killings. Many protesters carried banners and wore hats honoring Carlos Alberto Manzo Rodríguez, the mayor of Uruapan in Michoacán, who was assassinated earlier this month after opposing drug trafficking gangs.
“He was killed because he was a man who was sending officers into the mountains to fight delinquents,” said 65-year-old real estate agent Rosa Maria Avila, the Guardian reported. “He had the guts to confront them.”
Ahead of Saturday’s demonstrations, Sheinbaum accused rightwing parties of attempting to influence the Gen Z-led movement. “It is a movement promoted from abroad against the government,” she claimed.
