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Striking teachers wreaked havoc on Tuesday in downtown Mexico City, a few days before the city hosts the first match of the World Cup, with protesters pulling down giant mannequins of football players, ripping off their clothes and setting them on fire on the city’s main Paseo de la Reforma.
They also set soccer balls alight and blocked main roads across the capital.
The teachers, associated with the CNTE union, are calling for salary increases and the reversal of pension laws. They have threatened to protest during the World Cup unless a solution is reached.
Mexico’s president, Claudia Sheinbaum, was set to meet with a top Spanish official on Tuesday but with the teachers blocking access to the Zócalo and National Palace, the meeting had to take place on Zoom, La Jornada reported.
The chaos comes a day after the striking teachers were teargassed and reportedly shot with rubber bullets by riot police as they marched toward Mexico City’s historic Zócalo plaza, just days before the square is expected to host the 2026 World Cup “Fan Fest”.
Five protesters were injured in the melee, including one teacher who lost an eye, according to union leadership. Mexico City authorities have denied using rubber bullets or teargas.
On Tuesday, protesters gathered outside the interior ministry to denounce the violence, chanting “If there is no solution, the ball won’t roll”, in reference to the upcoming World Cup. They also criticised authorities for blocking access to the Zócalo.
“This shows that the spaces of the people can be privatised at the whim and for the benefit of the large corporations behind this World Cup, minimising the fight for workers’ rights,” said Filiberto Frausto, one of the union leaders.
The violence in Mexico City follows similar clashes between protesting teachers and police in the city of Oaxaca last month.
Mexican authorities insist they are advancing towards an agreement with the teachers. “Through dialogue, we will try to address the problems that are feasible to address,” Sheinbaum said on Monday. “There are some demands that the budget doesn’t allow us to fully meet, but there are some that we can; so, we are addressing them.”
But teachers are not convinced.
“All the government has done is hold meetings for dialogue, but there’s no progress,” Sergio Cruz, one of the protesting teachers, told the Guardian. “We are demanding justice.”
The protests have stoked anger and fear among business owners in and around Mexico’s historic downtown who were hoping for an economic boost from the World Cup.
“All the businesses around the main square were saying it was going to be great, that lots of people, lots of tourists, would come,” said Gerardo López Becerra, head of the Concomercio business group. “But with these tents set up in different parts of the historic centre, it’s affecting a lot of businesses.”
Becerra said that as many as 10,000 businesses could be affected by the ongoing protests.
But the teachers have vowed to keep marching until a solution is reached, even if it means holding protests during the World Cup.
“The protests will go on,” said Cruz. “It’s a moment for the world to know what kind of government we have.”
