Leading Thousands of Demonstrators Against Impunity, Mexican Gen Z Steals Police Shields and Launches Fireworks

JAKARTA - Thousands of people, led by Generation Z (Gen Z), took to the streets of Mexico City on Saturday to protest crime, corruption, and impunity in Mexico. The demonstration was also supported by senior cadres of the opposition party.

The demonstration was peaceful, but was marred by clashes between young demonstrators and police. Demonstrators threw rocks, fireworks, sticks, and chains, and seized police shields.

Mexico City's Security Secretary, Pablo Vázquez, said the clashes left 120 people injured, 100 of whom were police officers. Twenty demonstrators were arrested.

Andres Massa, a 29-year-old business consultant, said he was frustrated with systemic problems like corruption and impunity for violent crimes, which led him to join the demonstration.

"We need better security," said Andres, carrying a pirate skull flag, a global symbol of Gen Z protest, as quoted by AP.

Arizbeth Garcia, a 43-year-old doctor who participated in the protest, called for more funding for the public health system and better security for healthcare workers.

"Doctors are also exposed to the insecurity that grips this country, where you can be killed and nothing happens," Garcia said.

Illustration of a riot police shield. (Kelly-Pexels)

Besides Gen Z and Millennials, the demonstration in Mexico City was attended by a diverse age group, including supporters of the late Michoacan Mayor, Carlos Manzo, who was recently murdered.

They attended the protest wearing straw hats that symbolized his political movement.

"This country is dying," said Rosa Maria Avila, a 65-year-old real estate agent from Patzcuaro City in the western Mexican state of Michoacan.

Manzo, 40, was shot dead on Saturday, November 1, while attending a Day of the Dead festival in the center of Uruapan, in the violence-plagued state of Michoacan. Two suspects have been arrested, and a third has been killed.

"He was killed because he was a man who sent officers into the mountains to fight criminals. He had the guts to stand up to them," she said of Manzo.

Days before the demonstrations on Saturday, November 15, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum accused her right-wing opposition parties of trying to infiltrate the Gen Z-led movement.

Sheinbaum accused the opposition of using bots on social media to mobilize people to join the demonstrations.

On Sunday, November 16, several Gen Z social media influencers in Mexico withdrew their support for the demonstrations led by their generation. However, that same day, older figures such as former Mexican President Vicente Fox and Mexican billionaire Ricardo Salinas Pliego expressed their support for the demonstrations on their respective social media accounts.