Protests and last-minute construction work disrupt Mexico City ahead of World Cup

By Diego Oré and Alberto Fajardo

MEXICO CITY, June 3 (Reuters) – Eight days before Mexico City kicks off the World Cup, mass protests by teachers and retired judges, road closures and last-minute construction work caused chaos in the capital on Wednesday for millions of residents who face long delays and complex rerouting of their daily commutes. 

On June 11, Mexico City will host the inaugural World Cup match between Mexico and South Africa at Azteca stadium in the capital. 

With Mexico in the global spotlight, teachers and other groups have staged marches and blocked major avenues. They have said their protests, which are unrelated to the tournament, could intensify unless President Claudia Sheinbaum’s government addresses their demands.

The CNTE, a dissident wing of the national teachers’ union, has threatened mass demonstrations at the opening of the World Cup in official statements shared on social media.

The union is demanding the government fulfill a campaign pledge to repeal a 2007 law that overhauled the pension and social security system for public-sector workers, as well as salary increases.

“The current government made a campaign commitment — both the government of (former President) Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador and President Sheinbaum’s — they said they had that commitment to teachers to strike down that reform … but it never happened,” Rodrigo Arias, a schoolteacher from the southern state of Oaxaca with 40 years of classroom experience, said.

“There is neglect. There is a policy of managing timelines, of making commitments that are never truly kept. We will keep mobilizing until we are heard — even with the World Cup on the horizon,” added Arias, outside the Interior Ministry, where the CNTE was holding a protest while its leaders met with authorities in hope of reaching agreements.

The protests are concentrated on Insurgentes and Paseo de la Reforma, two of the capital’s busiest and most emblematic boulevards. Elsewhere in the capital, teachers were also blocking roads, generating traffic gridlock and frustrating commuters. 

On Tuesday, protesters toppled towering statues of football players on Mexico City’s Paseo de la Reforma. 

Arias said those responsible were not members of the union and that the CNTE was not seeking to destroy property or provoke confrontation. Nevertheless, several businesses along the avenue had by Wednesday erected metal and wooden barriers to protect themselves.

Sheinbaum said at her daily morning press conference that she would not be baited into provocations or order a crackdown on the demonstrations.

In downtown Mexico City, retired judges and magistrates were also protesting, demanding severance pay and pensions following a sweeping 2024 judicial reform that restructured the country’s justice system.

“The traffic is really affecting us; we’re losing too much time,” lamented Armando Escobedo, a delivery driver, as he took a detour around street closures. “You have to be empathetic with the teachers, but they do hurt us at work,” he added.

Mexico will host 13 World Cup matches: five in the capital, and four each in the cities of Guadalajara and Monterrey. Mexico City has undergone several infrastructure projects ahead of the world’s biggest sporting event. 

However, renovations at the Benito Juarez International Airport in Mexico City, the country’s largest and busiest airport, and repairs to the capital’s metro system and main avenues have yet to be completed. On Tuesday, a metal structure from a pedestrian bridge at the airport collapsed, injuring a motorist.

(Reporting by Diego Ore and Alberto Fajardo; Writing by Stefanie Eschenbacher; Editing by David Gregorio)