On Saturday, Mexico City became the epicenter of a massive protest as thousands of demonstrators clashed with police and attempted to penetrate the security perimeter surrounding the National Palace, the seat of the federal government’s executive branch.

The air was thick with tear gas as protesters forcefully removed riot police from their positions, resorting to physical attacks using an array of improvised weapons.

This anti-government demonstration, which erupted in violence at Zocalo Square, was primarily orchestrated by Generation Z, individuals born from the late 1990s to the early 2010s.

Participants in the protest shared with the Associated Press that their grievances centered on issues of corruption and public safety.

Protesters clashed with law enforcement during a youth-led anti-government rally in Mexico City on Saturday, November 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Marco Ugarte)

Among the protesters was Arizbeth Garcia, a 43-year-old doctor, who expressed her demand for enhanced security measures and increased investment in the public health sector.

“[Doctors] are also exposed to the insecurity gripping the country, where you can be murdered and nothing happens,” Garcia said.

Another demonstrator, Rosa Maria Avila, 65, of Patzcuaro in Michoacán, told the outlet she was marching in support of Uruapan Mayor Carlos Manzo, an anti-crime activist who was assassinated at a public event earlier this month in Michoacán.

“The state is dying,” Avila said. “He was killed because he was a man who was sending officers into the mountains to fight delinquents. He had the guts to confront them.”

Protesters charge at police during a youth anti-government march in Mexico City, Saturday, Nov. 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Marco Ugarte)

Manzo was shot seven times after condemning Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum for her alleged lack of effort in combating cartels. 

“We need greater determination from the president of Mexico,” Manzo told local media in September. “I do not want to be just another mayor on the list of those who have been executed and had their lives taken away from them. … I am very afraid, but I must face it with courage.”

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum, who took office in October 2024 as Mexico’s first female president, recently came under fire after a series of high-profile murders.

Demonstrator try to tumble a fence during a rally against the government of Mexico’s President Claudia Sheinbaum at Zocalo Square in Mexico City on November 15, 2025.  (Alfredo Estrella/AFP via Getty Images)

Critics accuse her of tolerating organized crime and failing to support anti-cartel efforts.

In May, Sheinbaum publicly confirmed she rejected U.S. military assistance from President Donald Trump, who was looking to help the country fight drug trafficking and violent cartels.

She allegedly told Trump the country will “never accept” the presence of the U.S. Army in its territory.

“No, President Trump, our territory is inalienable, sovereignty is inalienable,” Sheinbaum previously said. “We can collaborate. We can work together, but with you in your territory and us in ours. We can share information, but we will never accept the presence of the United States Army on our territory.”

The Heritage Foundation, a top conservative group, claimed Mexico was unlikely to change its stance when Sheinbaum was elected despite the escalating threat from cartels.