A Congress session in Mexico on Wednesday ended in violence when an opposition leader attacked the president of the Senate, Gerardo Fernández Noroña, pushing and pulling him and throwing punches.
Alejandro “Alito” Moreno, president of the right-wing Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) and member of the Senate, rushed to Noroña at the end of a “tense” debate about the possibility of allowing US troops in Mexico.
In a video widely circulated online, Alito can be seen forcefully interrupting the Senate president during the singing of the national anthem, which closed the meeting on Wednesday, August 27.
“I’m asking you for the floor!” Moreno shouts at the Senate leader, pulling on his arm.
“Don’t touch me,” responds Noroña. But Moreno continues while yelling in his face.
“He hit me on the arms and said: ‘I’m going to beat the shit out of you, I’m going to kill you,” the Senate president recounted to the press after the incident.
Ofrezco al compañero fotógrafo del senado una disculpa. No condene enérgicamente la agresión de la que fue víctima esta tarde. ¿Se pronunciarán las y los más influyentes líderes de opinión en contra de Alito por este violento ataque a un colega? No lo creo. pic.twitter.com/EoD74O2HH9
— epigmenio ibarra (@epigmenioibarra) August 28, 2025
The video shows Noroña, a prominent left figure of the ruling Morena party, pushing his arms back. Dozens of legislatures attempt to intervene as the scuffle escalates. Alito knocks a cameraman onto the floor and starts throwing blows. Another PRI congressman can be seen yanking Noroña by his jacket and punching him, as the Senate chief exits amidst a swarm of bodies.
“Let it be clear: the first physical aggression came from Noroña,” the PRI president claimed in a post on X after the incident.
On the other hand, 23 state leaders released a joint statement denouncing Alito’s actions: “We, the governors of the Fourth Transformation, firmly condemn the physical and verbal aggression committed by Alejandro Moreno Cárdenas.”
In a press conference following the incident, Senate President Noroña announced that he would call an extraordinary session to propose the expulsion of Moreno and the other PRI leaders involved in the aggression.
The session debate: US troops on Mexican soil?
On the agenda of that day’s meeting of Mexico’s Permanent Commission, a body that represents the entire Congress of the Union when it’s not in session, was an item raised by the PRI and the National Action Party (PAN) themselves: the possibility of US military presence in Mexico.
The discussion heated up quickly. Senator Lilly Téllez (PAN), who had recently made statements on Fox News openly calling for US “assistance” in fighting drug cartels in Mexico, doubled-down on her comments. She also derided the ruling party as “Morenarcos”, claiming that their opposition to US military involvement amounts to defending drug cartels.
Her comments have been widely denounced as “traitorous” by officials and the Mexican public. Yet, several other opposition senators backed her arguments in Congress.
Both the PRI and PAN denied supporting US boots on the ground directly. They claimed that security partnership, training of Mexican forces, and support from a limited number of US soldiers constitutes cooperation, not invasion. However, the mere mention of US military involvement in Mexico – especially as US President Trump threatens an incursion in the Caribbean under the pretext of targeting cartels – is widely seen as a violation of national sovereignty. Mexico’s history is painfully marked by repeated US invasions and incursions.
In early August, The New York Times reported that Trump had signed a directive for military action to be used against drug cartels. Simultaneously, the US embassy in Mexico released a statement claiming that the US will work with Sheinbaum’s government, using “every tool at our disposal” to confront drug cartels, treating them like “armed terrorist organizations”.
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum firmly rejected these statements during a regular press conference, “There will be no invasion. It’s off the table.” The Foreign Ministry also said they will never “accept the participation of US military forces on our territory.”
During the Wednesday session about US troops, Senate President Noroña suggested a way to end the debate quickly. Based on the apparent unanimity against US boots on the ground, he proposed that the Permanent Commission issue a unanimous statement categorically rejecting any military intervention by a foreign country in the Mexican homeland.
The agreement was unanimous, until the PAN backed out on signing the statement. They demanded a full political debate over the issue at a later time, rather than lock themselves into a rejection of foreign military intervention outright.
Alito attacked the Senate leader as the session ended, apparently frustrated by the course of the discussion and the position it left the opposition in.
“I believe they have made the most serious mistake,” Noroña said in a press conference in the aftermath of the aggression.
“They want a debate, they will get it, and they will be exposed for what they are: traitors to the country.”
Brawl highlights growing crisis for the opposition
The timing of the dramatic incident in Congress is no coincidence. Political tensions in Mexico have been building for months and a pivotal moment for the country is days away.
On September 1, the 2,681 judges (881 federal judicial positions and 1,800 local judges) chosen by popular vote in Mexico’s historic judiciary elections on June 1 will be sworn into office. This includes the renewal of the full bench of the Supreme Court, which will now be composed of a majority of five women and four men.
Read More: Mexico holds its first-ever election of judges
The constitutionally-enshrined Judicial Reform – the driver of these sweeping changes – is one of the most significant achievements of the Morena party and the people of Mexico in the last two years.
Mexico’s opposition, who failed to stop the Judicial Reform from passing, is facing serious challenges as September 1 approaches. Pressure is mounting as they struggle to effectively mobilize against these changes.
“It happened because of their intransigence, their cowardice, for not letting us speak,” Alito proclaimed to the press about his aggression on Wednesday.
“But even more so because, what do we do? If they don’t want us to speak, they don’t give us any space, any participation.”
The PRI and PAN seem to have positioned themselves on the unpopular side of the upcoming debate over US troops in Mexico. If Noroña is correct, their biggest mistake was forcing the debate at all – let alone their violence in Congress, which could lead to expulsions. With the new judicial appointments soon to be sworn in and more accountable to the public than ever, the opposition may find themselves increasingly isolated and desperate in Mexico’s evolving political landscape.
The post PRI leader throws punches in Mexican Congress as opposition clamors for US military presence appeared first on Peoples Dispatch.
From Peoples Dispatch via this RSS feed