Mexico City protests: Horrific video shows officer beaten with bolt cutter as violent mob tries to storm National Palace after Gen Z–led protest in Mexico City erupts

Mexico City protests: Protesters flooded Mexico City on Saturday, November 15 clashing with police and attempting to push their way into the National Palace, the seat of Mexico’s executive branch.

The protests in Mexico city began as a Gen Z-organized demonstration against rising crime, corruption, and impunity that quickly drew strong support from older backers of opposition parties, swelling the crowd to several thousand.

Police officer beaten in Mexico city protest

Protest in Mexico City: A widely shared video on social media captures a disturbing scene, a mob drags a Mexican police officer into the crowd (one seems to have a bolt cutter) and beats him, while others tear down metal security barriers. Later, he was seen without a police helmet as protesters beat and kicked him mercilessly.


The protest in Mexico City forms part of a broader wave of Gen Z-led demonstrations around the world this year. Movements driven by young people, born between the late 1990s and early 2010s, have erupted in several countries, targeting issues such as inequality, democratic backsliding, and entrenched corruption.

Other Gen-Z protests around the world

In recent times the largest of these kinds of protests occurred in Nepal in September, after the government imposed a social media ban, ultimately contributing to the resignation of the prime minister.

In Mexico, many young people say they are increasingly frustrated by systemic problems, particularly corruption and impunity surrounding violent crime. The unrest comes despite President Claudia Sheinbaum maintaining high approval ratings, even after a series of high-profile killings, including the recent assassination of a popular mayor in Michoacán.

Ahead of Saturday’s march, Sheinbaum accused right-wing parties of attempting to infiltrate the Gen Z movement and using social media bots to artificially boost attendance.

FAQs on Mexico City protests

What sparked the Gen Z–led Mexico City protests?

The Mexico City protests were primarily driven by frustration over rising crime, corruption, and impunity in Mexico. Many young people, especially Gen Z, organized the demonstrations to demand stronger government action and accountability.

How many people participated in the protests in Mexico City?

Estimates suggest that several thousand people attended the Gen Z–led protest in Mexico City, though numbers varied throughout the day as groups joined from different parts of the city.