Is Mexico the next country to see a youth anti-government uprising? It seems that some would like it to be. On November 15 in Mexico City, thousands of demonstrators, estimates vary on how many participated, took to the streets to protest against the government of President Claudia Sheinbaum. Participants also said that they were protesting against the president’s handling of the problem of insecurity in Mexico. They demanded that the government take a tougher stance against organized crime following the assassination of Uruapan Mayor Carlos Monzo.

The day of protests led to clashes between demonstrators and police. According to official reports, at least 100 police officers were injured, as well as 20 protesters. The protesters removed the fence protecting the National Palace, to which the police responded by firing tear gas and arresting 20 of the protesters, accusing them of theft and assault.

The Executive’s reaction

For her part, Sheinbaum stated that she supported the protesters’ right to protest, but that she did not support any acts of violence: “Today there was a demonstration where they say young people marched, but in reality there were very few, and they violently removed some fences and broke windows… Violence should never be used to bring about change; always peaceful means.”

The Secretary of Public Education, Mario Delgado, claimed that the protest was fueled by information seeking to manipulate the younger population by hiring thousands of bots. In this regard, the Executive insists that the demonstrations are being financed by groups and individuals who remain “behind the scenes.”

A plot to provoke the demonstrations?

Before the November 15 demonstration, Sheinbaum publicly stated that obscure interests would finance the events: “We agree with freedom of expression and demonstration if there are young people who have demands, but the question here is who is promoting the demonstration… People should know how this protest was organized so that no one is being used.”

According to the Executive, a network of international right-wing groups, opposition figures, influencers, and bots is coordinating with each other to promote a process of destabilization in Mexico. Among the names that have allegedly spent almost 90 million Mexican pesos (almost USD 4,881,767) to promote the demonstrations are telecommunications entrepreneur Ricardo Salinas Pliego (owner of Azteca Noticias) and the far-right international NGO Atlas Network.

The president pointed out that a large part of the money comes from abroad: “There is evidence that many of the promoters have nothing to do with Generation Z, but rather that this is a political operation financed from abroad.”

Thus, according to the government, as part of the plot to delegitimize the government, the network of opposition figures allegedly orchestrated a media campaign to gradually generate unrest among Mexico’s younger population through the use of hundreds of accounts on Facebook, TikTok, and other social networks. Reports indicate that the social media accounts gradually began to call for a “peaceful demonstration” against the government.

Among the politicians who echoed the call for a demonstration are the mayor of Cuauhtémoc, Alessandra Rojo de la Vega, the opposition movement Marea Rosa, and the country’s former right-wing president, Vicente Fox.

Sheinbaum: “They want to spread a false idea internationally”

In addition, President Sheinbaum said on November 17 that several international media outlets are trying to spread the idea that acts of repression are taking place in Mexico, which she claims is absolutely false.

On the contrary, the Executive attempted to demonstrate, through videos and photographs, that the goal of some masked protesters was to tear down the fence protecting the National Palace, attack the police, and force a response from law enforcement in order to justify a narrative that is being promoted internationally, namely that young people are being repressed in Mexico.

A popular but attentive government

According to the latest polls, Claudia Sheinbaum maintains an approval rating of more than 70% of the population, which is why she has stated that “the majority of the population” does not agree with the recent demonstrations.

However, despite its popularity, the Executive has spent a great deal of time trying to figure out what happened on November 15. This is because opposition groups have stated that they will mobilize again on November 20, and they hope that the call to action will grow stronger as the days go by. This explains why Sheinbaum and her team are trying to tackle a problem that could become a real headache, even more so if it is confirmed that the smear campaign is in fact a plot orchestrated inside and outside Mexico by dark forces.

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