Gen Z leads anti-crime march in Mexico; hundreds injured, several arrested

Thousands of voices rose in unison on the broad avenues of Mexico City, as crowds — sparked into action by Gen Z organisers — poured into the streets to denounce rising crime, corruption, and a sense of impunity that has seeped deep into the country’s political fabric. What began as a youthful call for accountability quickly swelled into a multigenerational tide, drawing older supporters of opposition parties who marched alongside the young in a shared cry for change.

But the energy that pulsed through the capital soon gave way to chaos. The demonstration, charged with frustration and hope in equal measure, ended in violent clashes that left scores injured and dozens detained.

Pablo Vázquez Camacho, head of the capital’s Secretariat of Citizen Security, revealed that 100 police officers were wounded during Saturday’s march, with 40 requiring hospitalisation. Among them, 36 suffered contusions, while four others were treated for trauma and related injuries. Local outlet El Universal reported that 20 civilians were also hurt in the turmoil.

Authorities later confirmed that 20 individuals had been arrested and placed before a Public Prosecutor, while another 20 were detained for administrative offences and brought before a civic judge.

Facing the press after the unrest, Vázquez Camacho issued a firm condemnation of the violence.

"We condemn the violent events that occurred during the march," he said, warning of organised groups that, in his words, “validate and support these acts from a distance”.

The crowd itself was a portrait of Mexico’s diversity: teenagers marching beside grandmothers, long-time government critics interwoven with fresh-faced activists. Among them were supporters of the recently slain Michoacan Mayor Carlos Manzo, recognisable by the straw hats emblematic of his movement. Manzo, fatally shot on 1 November in Uruapan, was said by officials to have been killed by a 17-year-old meth-addicted boy, who was himself shot dead after being detained.

Images from the capital traced the march’s trajectory: thousands moving steadily toward the Zócalo, Mexico City’s historic heart, until tensions erupted into confrontations with security forces.

This turbulent demonstration now joins the growing catalogue of Gen Z-led uprisings sweeping the world. From Nepal — where mass protests against a social media ban forced the prime minister’s resignation — to last year’s unrest in Bangladesh, young people born between the late 1990s and early 2010s have increasingly emerged as the loudest voices against inequality, corruption, and democratic decay.

In Mexico, these frustrations run deep. For many young people, the march was not just a moment of protest but a reflection of a generation weary of systemic corruption and the near-total impunity that surrounds violent crime — yet unwilling to fall silent.

With IANS inputs