Thousands of citizens marched this Saturday in downtown Mexico City to protest against insecurity and the government of Mayor Claudia Sheinbaum.
The demonstration, which began at the Angel of Independence monument and proceeded to the Zócalo, was organized by several Generation Z youth groups, and has been joined by people protesting cases such as the assassination of Uruapan Mayor Carlos Manzo on November 1st.
Some of the most frequent slogans at the march so far are “Long live Carlos Manzo!”, “Out with Claudia!”, and “Out with Morena!”, the mayor’s party.
This week, Sheinbaum dismissed the call for Saturday’s mobilization, claiming it was a “right-wing demonstration,” and said it was “important” to understand how the movement originated.
“We support freedom of expression and freedom of assembly. If young people have demands, I think it’s perfectly fine for them to demonstrate. Now, the issue here is who is promoting the demonstration. Perhaps some people saw it on social media and are joining because maybe (young people) don’t agree with us, but it’s very important to know how the call for this mobilization was organized,” said the president of Mexico on Thursday.
Sheinbaum stated that many of those promoting this march “have nothing to do with Generation Z” and that “it’s an initiative promoted even from abroad.”
In the morning, the Mexico City police estimated that some 5,000 demonstrators would attend the protest, which they called the “March for Justice and Freedom!”
As the march moves toward the Zócalo, police officers accompany the contingent from the side.
During the first hour of the mobilization, the march has remained incident-free and is proceeding peacefully.
Pablo Vázquez, Mexico City’s Secretary of Security, said that approximately 800 police officers are accompanying the march.
“They will only intervene as per Mexico City’s protocol. They will intervene if they detect individuals carrying objects suitable for assault, approaching them and asking them to hand over the objects,” Vázquez commented in an interview with the local media outlet Foro TV.
Before noon (local time), the first demonstrators arrived at the Zócalo, where a One Piece manga flag was already displayed in front of the National Palace. One Piece has become an iconic symbol of the Generation Z movement in other parts of the world, including Latin America and Asia.
Flag with the One Piece anime image in front of the National Palace.
Some protesters struck the metal barriers surrounding the National Palace—which had been erected before the march by teachers from the National Coordinator of Education Workers (CNTE) on Thursday—and threw firecrackers.
While most people kept their distance from the area, more and more protesters gathered there, where objects (in addition to firecrackers) began to be thrown, and the police initiated dispersal measures, including the use of tear gas.
There were also demonstrations this Saturday in other states, such as Michoacán, Puebla, Guanajuato, Oaxaca, Aguascalientes, Veracruz, Nuevo León, and Coahuila.
Source: cnnespanol
