Protesters gathered in cities across Mexico on Saturday to vent their frustration at how the president has handled corruption and violent crime, with demonstrators ranging from pensioners to young people linking themselves with a global Gen Z movement.
The demonstrations, which took place in more than 50 cities, underscored a persistent public perception: Despite President Claudia Sheinbaum’s efforts to curb violence and weaken organized crime, many Mexicans feel that killings and corruption retain a powerful grasp on their lives.
“I am tired and saddened by the situation in the country today,” said Rodrigo Santana, 21, an actor and singer who joined the protest in Mexico City. “The goal of this march is precisely to remove the president. And to show that we are angry, that the people are not with her.”
Ms. Sheinbaum remains broadly popular and her opposition largely disorganized, not presenting any clear threat to her presidency.
But the protests were a clear sign of widespread frustration, drawing from a range of society and coming as many Mexicans feel increasing anger over persistent violence. A prominent mayor who had called for harsh action against criminals was assassinated this month, extortion is at an all-time high and some states have become battlegrounds for cartels armed with military-grade weapons.
This week, Ms. Sheinbaum’s administration described the planned protests as part of an “inorganic, paid” campaign organized by her opponents. A government presentation traced their online promotion to opposition-linked figures and newly created social media accounts, a strategy officials asserted cost nearly $5 million.
But those at the protest in the capital’s central plaza, the Zócalo, complained about widespread corruption and violence, issues that surveys show are critical to voters.
Many protesters waved white flags or wore cowboy hats in memory of one man: Carlos Manzo, the outspoken mayor who was assassinated this month in his home state, Michoacán.
Before his death, Mr. Manzo — who started an independent political initiative known as the Sombrero Movement — had clashed with Ms. Sheinbaum over her security strategy, which he described as flawed and ineffective. He called for an iron fist approach to crime, even announcing he would reward police officers who killed cartel hit men.
A large banner on the barricades protecting the Angel of Independence monument memorialized the mayor by comparing him to Nayib Bukele, El Salvador’s tough-on-crime president: “They took away our Mexican Bukele, Carlos Manzo, to scare us. But they gave us a national hero.”
Roberto Navarro, 64, a farmer from Jalisco state, said he brought the banner to honor Mr. Manzo as a rare Mexican politician willing to stand up to cartels. He added that the mayor defended farmers like him, who often must pay extortion fees to criminal groups.
Only the United States, Mr. Navarro said, could loosen the cartels’ grip. “What can we do as citizens? Ask for intervention, which is the only solution,” he added.
Ms. Sheinbaum has repeatedly opposed that idea, stressing that while her government cooperates with U.S. authorities on intelligence sharing, any foreign security operation on Mexican territory would violate its sovereignty.
Some protesters used the Discord app to organize, but even there, there was confusion about goals and strategies. Several people discussed trying to break into the National Palace, where Ms. Sheinbaum lives.
By late Saturday, protesters had torn down some of the metal fences surrounding the building and injured about 100 police officers, 40 of whom were hospitalized, the authorities said. A tense face-off between some masked protesters and police guarding the National Palace escalated when clouds of tear gas covered the scene, and rocks were thrown. Twenty people were arrested, officials said.
Mr. Santana, the singer, said he was unsure what should happen next in the unlikely event that the president resigned.
“I just know that getting her out is part of the beginning of something,” he said.
Others on Discord discussed alternatives to Ms. Sheinbaum, with one suggesting a leadership position for the brash billionaire Ricardo Salinas Pliego, who has become one of the most aggressive opposition voices. (Another person said they’d kick the business mogul out of the protest if they saw him.)
Mr. Salinas Pliego was among those whom the government accused of orchestrating the protests. On Saturday he rejected that accusation, saying on social media, “I demand that you present a single piece of evidence for the lies you are spreading.”
But regardless of who might or might not have been organizing the demonstrations, many young people described a broader frustration.
“This movement represents no single thing; it’s about everything: injustice, insecurity, the disappeared, the lack of education, the lack of employment,” said Jacobo Alejandro, an 18-year-old student who came with two classmates. “It’s a discontent with how the country is being run.”
Nearby, Omar Cortés, 19, shouted slogans demanding Ms. Sheinbaum step down.
“We’re obviously not going to achieve her revocation, because that’s too extreme,” Mr. Cortés later said in an interview. “But it’s about letting the government know that we’re willing to go that far. Because when those at the bottom move, those at the top fall.”
Jack Nicas and Fred Ramos contributed reporting from Mexico City.
Emiliano Rodríguez Mega is a reporter and researcher for The Times based in Mexico City, covering Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean.
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