Mexico City descended into chaos on Saturday as thousands of mostly Gen Z protesters surged into the historic center, clashing with police and tearing down security barriers surrounding the National Palace. What started as a march over corruption, cartel violence, and distrust of President Claudia Sheinbaum’s security policies quickly transformed into a rolling street riot that left more than one hundred police officers injured and the government scrambling for explanations.
The spark was the assassination of Uruapan Mayor Carlos Manzo, a vocal anti-cartel crusader who had publicly warned that he feared he would be killed for confronting criminal groups. His murder hit a national nerve. Demonstrators arrived in cowboy hats to honor him and carried banners reading “We are all Carlos Manzo.” Many described the country as collapsing under the weight of crime and state inaction. One protester told the Associated Press she marched because even doctors work under constant threat.
“[Doctors] are also exposed to the insecurity gripping the country, where you can be murdered and nothing happens.”
Another marcher, who traveled from Michoacán, said Manzo represented the kind of leader Mexico needs but rarely gets.
“The state is dying. He was killed because he was a man who was sending officers into the mountains to fight delinquents. He had the guts to confront them.”
Manzo himself had warned just weeks before his death that he needed stronger federal support.
“We need greater determination from the president of Mexico. I do not want to be just another mayor on the list of those who have been executed. I am very afraid, but I must face it with courage.”
As crowds filled Zócalo Square, what was initially a loud but peaceful protest escalated when frontline demonstrators wearing masks and hoods pushed into police shields. Officers attempted to hold formation, but the crowd grew more aggressive. Tear gas drifted across the square as the first clashes broke out.
According to Fox News, rioters began dragging officers out of formation, beating them with hammers, chains, and makeshift weapons. They stripped police of shields and radios, then hurled explosive devices across the plaza.
“Plumes of tear gas filled the street as hooded protesters dragged riot police out of formation, beat them with hammers and chains and threw explosive devices at them.”
Police fell back as the crowd moved toward the National Palace. Officers attempted to mount a new defensive line, but videos show protesters pushing harder, overpowering them, and advancing toward the heavy metal barricades that protect the complex where Sheinbaum lives.
The barrier became the turning point. Demonstrators began ripping it apart, piece by piece. Some climbed over the wall. Others smashed it with stolen shields and metal poles. The wall finally gave way under the force of the crowd.
“Demonstrators dismantled parts of a barrier protecting the National Palace.”
Police deployed more tear gas, but it did not stop the breach. Portions of the security perimeter collapsed as the demonstrators pushed inside.
“Thousands of protesters swarmed Mexico City Saturday, attacking police officers and attempting to breach a security barrier around the National Palace.”
The fighting left at least 120 people injured, including 100 police officers, according to city officials. Many suffered contusions, cuts, and blunt-force trauma. Dozens were hospitalized. Security leaders said that despite the extraordinary violence, officers had been ordered not to attack the crowd.
“Mexico City Police only carried out containment work and did not repress protesters or respond to the provocations.”
President Sheinbaum, facing mounting pressure over rising cartel violence and high-profile assassinations, responded by accusing right-wing political actors of funding and promoting the demonstrations.
“Sheinbaum said the marches had been funded by right-wing politicians who oppose her government.”
Her administration has already been criticized for refusing U.S. military assistance to fight cartels and for claiming that online activity before the march was driven by bots.
But the scenes in Mexico City tell a different story, one of public anger boiling over into a direct assault on the seat of federal power. The collapse of the security perimeter at the National Palace marks one of the most dramatic moments of unrest in Sheinbaum’s short presidency, and with Manzo’s assassination still raw, there is no indication the pressure will ease anytime soon.
h/t to Julio Rosas and his company, MostlyPeaceful, for the footage.
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