After A Mayor Was Killed, People In Mexico Held Gen-Z Style Protests Against Corruption And Drug Violence
The protests were sparked after the mayor of Uruapan, Carlos Manzo, was shot and killed during a public Day of the Dead event, making him the sixth mayor assassinated in Mexico in 2025.
Thousands of people marched in Mexico in Gen Z-organized protests against corruption and rising violence linked to drug cartels, days after another local politician was killed.
On Nov. 1, the mayor of Uruapan, Carlos Manzo, was shot and killed during a public Day of the Dead event, making him the sixth mayor assassinated in Mexico in 2025.
Manzo had previously asked for government help to tackle criminal groups that had increased their presence in the state of Michoacán and were extorting farmers, according to Spanish newspaper El Pais.
A group calling itself “Generation Z Mexico” then used social media to urge people to gather at Mexico’s city central plaza, El Zócalo, to demand action against government corruption and drug-related violence.
On Saturday, Nov. 15, thousands of people stormed the streets of Mexico under the banner of Generation Z, initially in peaceful protests, chanting slogans like "Carlos did not die, the government killed him."
However, the protests later turned violent with clashes between the police and protesters.
A group of young people threw bottles and rocks towards the National Palace and managed to bring barriers around the building.
At least 120 people were injured, 100 of whom were police officers, and police arrested at least 20 people.
Government officials said around 17,000 people joined the protests, but said that most participants were not young people and questioned the movement’s true motivations.
President Claudia Sheinbaum’s administration said the movement had been amplified by far-right groups and bots.
Sheinbaum condemned the violence, saying “there is never a need to use violence for change,” and added that “very few young people” had participated in the protests.
Despite skepticism over the protest’s origins, Saturday’s march marked the first major demonstration faced by Sheinbaum’s government, whose main challenges continue to be drug-related violence.
Following the death of Manzo, Sheinabum unveiled a new security plan that would deploy the national guard troops to support local police in the state of Michoacán.
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Cherry Mohamed
