Why did Mexicans attack the Presidential Palace in Mexico City?

It was one of the most intense riots I have covered in my career...

Julio Rosas

Nov 18

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Mexico City’s main plaza, the Zocalo, was rocked by riots over the weekend as Mexicans are getting increasingly frustrated with the power the cartels have and federal government not aggressively responding to them.

The spark that lead to the explosion of violence outside the National Palace started in the state of Michoacán. The mayor of Uruapan, Carlos Manzo, was gunned down in front of his family during Dia de Muertos, once of the biggest holidays of the year. Manzo had been an outspoken critic of the cartels and President Claudia Sheinbaum.

Watch the chaotic riots here:

Michoacán is a state that has been dealing with cartel violence for a long time, as different groups fight each other for control of the region. Thousands of civilians have been killed during the war, with just as many having been disappeared. The Mexican War on Drugs was started in Michoacán when the president ordered the military into the state in 2006.

Sheinbaum has repeatedly said her administration will not pursue a similar war because it resulted in too many deaths.

Manzo’s murder has enraged Mexicans. His killing was yet another in a long list of politicians, activists, and journalists who had spoken out against the cartels and ended up dead. Right before Manzo was killed, the president for a union of lime growers was also tortured and killed in Michoacán because he publicly advocated for the farmers to not pay the cartels’ extortion tax.

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Shortly after the assassination, riots and protests have broken out in Michoacán. City halls in Morelia, the state capital, and Apatzingán were attacked and stormed by angry crowds, calling for the removal of the ruling Morena party.

This past Saturday, dozens of marches took place to protest the “narco-government,” with the largest taking place in Mexico City. The marchers said Sheinbaum’s government was responsible for Manzo’s killing.

Once the march entered the city’s plaza, the crowd started to immediately attack the security wall that was protecting the National Palace. It was one of the most intense riots I have covered in my career, as both rioters and police threw chunks of concrete and rocks at each other for hours.

Most of the security wall was eventually torn down. It took hours for police to expel the angry crowd from the plaza. Over 20 people were arrested and hundreds on both sides were injured.

The main question is what happens next? The prosecutor’s office in Mexico City are pursuing attempted murder charges for some of the rioters for their attacks on police.

Sheinbaum said on Monday that was march was not filled with young people and their attempts to disrupt her government’s policies will fail. Another march is planned in Mexico City on Thursday, which is the holiday that marks the country’s revolution in the early 20th century.