At least 120 people were injured as thousands of Gen Z protesters took to the streets of Mexico City and across the country to voice their anger at corruption and the drug violence that claims tens of thousands of Mexican lives each year.
Saturday’s rallies, which took place in dozens of cities from Tijuana in the north to Oaxaca in the south drew large crowds, with some demonstrators carrying the One Piece pirate flag that has become a global symbol of the youth movement.
“We need more security,” said Andres Massa, 29, a business consultant who was among those carrying the flag.
The demonstration in Mexico City’s Zócalo plaza – which is home to the offices of Mexico’s president, Claudia Sheinbaum – began peacefully but later slid into violence, with protesters pelting riot police with rocks and officers fighting back with shields, batons and fire extinguishers.
“For many hours, this mobilisation proceeded and developed peacefully, until a group of hooded individuals began to commit acts of violence,” said Pablo Vázquez, the security chief for Mexico City.
Vázquez reported that 100 police officers were injured, of whom 40 required hospital treatment for bruises and cuts, while 20 protesters were hurt.
Footage of riot police kicking and punching protesters also spread on social media. Víctor Camacho, a photographer for one of Mexico’s main newspapers, La Jornada, accused police of assaulting him as he covered the rally. “The journalist was kicked while on the ground, with many of those kicks aimed at his face,” the newspaper reported. “One officer … threatened to kill me,” Camacho claimed.
There were also reports of disturbances in Mexico’s second-largest city, Guadalajara, where 47 people were detained and 13 people injured, including three police officers, according to authorities.
Sheinbaum, who has been in power since October 2024, maintains approval ratings above 70% but has faced criticism of her security policy after several high-profile murders. Mexico’s first female president denounced the violence during a visit to Tabasco state. “We say no to violence,” she told reporters.
Many of the protesters held banners and wore hats saluting Carlos Alberto Manzo Rodríguez, the mayor of Uruapan in Michoacán state who was assassinated on 1 November having led a crusade against drug trafficking gangs in his town.
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, who had travelled from Michoacán state. “He had the guts to confront them.”
Protesters gathered in front of the National Palace, where Sheinbaum lives and works, and knocked down some of the metal fences around the building.
Police protecting the compound used teargas and fire extinguishers to contain the protesters, who were banging on the fences.
“This is how you should have protected Carlos Manzo,” some of the protesters shouted at the security forces.
Hundreds of young people threw projectiles at the police, who responded by deploying their shields and also threw objects at the protesters.
In the days leading up to Saturday’s protest, Sheinbaum accused rightwing parties of trying to infiltrate the gen Z movement, and of using bots on social media to try to increase attendance.
“It is a movement promoted from abroad against the government,” she said.
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