On Saturday, thousands of demonstrators converged, assaulting police officers and trying to penetrate a security perimeter encircling the National Palace, home to the federal government’s executive branch.
The street was filled with clouds of tear gas as masked protesters pulled riot police from their ranks, striking them with hammers and chains, and hurling explosive devices, while also disarming them of their shields and communication radios.
Through social media, the Secretariat of Citizen Security of Mexico City reported that at least 60 police personnel sustained minor injuries, with 40 requiring hospitalization.
Among the 40 hospitalized officers, 36 suffered contusions, cuts, and minor wounds, while four are undergoing specialized treatment for trauma and other non-life-threatening injuries.
By Saturday evening, a minimum of 20 individuals had been arrested, and another 20 were cited for administrative infractions.
The anti-government demonstration, which escalated into violence at Zocalo Square, was orchestrated by individuals from Generation Z—those born between the late 1990s and early 2010s.
Demonstrators told the they were rallying against .
The Secretariat of Citizen Security highlighted that Mexico City Police solely performed containment duties and neither suppressed demonstrators nor reacted to provocations.
Arizbeth Garcia, a 43-year-old physician, stated to the outlet that she was marching for heightened security and greater funding for the .
“[Medical professionals] are also vulnerable to the insecurity plaguing the nation, where one can be killed with impunity,” Garcia remarked.
Rosa Maria Avila, 65, from Patzcuaro, Michoacán, another protester, told the outlet that she was marching to support Uruapan Mayor Carlos Manzo, an anti-crime activist murdered at a public event earlier this month in Michoacán.
“The state is perishing,” Avila declared. “He was assassinated because he was a man dispatching officers into the mountains to combat criminals. He possessed the courage to confront them.”
Manzo was shot seven times following his condemnation of Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum for her alleged lack of effort in .
“We require stronger resolve from the president of Mexico,” Manzo informed local media in September. “I refuse to be merely another mayor on the roster of those who have been executed and deprived of their lives. … I am very fearful, yet I must confront it with bravery.”
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum, who assumed office in October 2024 as Mexico’s first female president, recently faced criticism following a succession of high-profile killings.
Critics allege that she condones organized crime and neglects to back anti-cartel initiatives.
In May, Sheinbaum publicly confirmed her refusal of U.S. military assistance from President , who intended to help the country combat drug trafficking and violent cartels.
She reportedly informed Trump that the country would ” of the U.S. Army in its territory.
“No, President Trump, our territory is unalienable, sovereignty is unalienable,” Sheinbaum had previously stated. “We are capable of collaboration. We can cooperate, but with you operating in your territory and us in ours. We can exchange information, but we will never tolerate the presence of the United States Army on our sovereign land.”
The Heritage Foundation, a prominent conservative organization, asserted that Mexico was improbable to alter its position upon Sheinbaum’s election, notwithstanding the growing danger from cartels.
Digital’s Anders Hagstrom and