In early November, protests held by the citizens of Mexico regarding government corruption slowly sparked into violence, as protestors clashed with police.
Throughout Mexico, there has been a lot of crime, like kidnappings, drug violence, and robberies, leading to many deaths, including of women and children, due to the brutality of the crimes, that occur with no repercussions.
The act of not doing anything about the crime in the government led to an outbreak of people protesting. This contributed to the conclusion that the president of Mexico, Claudia Sheinbaum, is at fault for allowing organized crime to happen and not giving enough support to anti-cartel efforts.
The president of Mexico, Claudia Sheinbaum, denied assistance from President Trump to fight against the cartel, stating that the country would never accept a U.S. Military presence in the country.
This would lead to popular figures like Carlos Manzo, the mayor of Uruapan in the state of Michoacan, speaking out not only for their safety but for the safety of all of Mexico.
Carlos Manzo was known for speaking out about the corruption of the Mexican government, pointing out its flaws. He would point out how Claudia Sheinbaum showed little effort. Manzo would push for laws against drug trafficking. When he was killed November 1st, 2025, anger sparked throughout Michoacan and Mexico.
Waves of protests organized by Mexicans from Generation Z, demanded justice for the people who died at the hands of criminals, including justice for Carlos Manzo.
What originally started as peaceful protests in Mexico City transitioned into something that sparked into violence between protestors and riot police, leading to 120 people being injured, 100 of whom were police.
Many citizens of Mexico would show their dissatisfaction with the current policies of Mexico by using symbols to express their anger with the corrupt government.
Protestors would use straw hats in solidarity with Carlos Manzo, while also dancing like him to symbolize his movement towards changing the corrupted government
Many protestors also used the “One Piece” flag, which is in the shape of a skull wearing a hat. This flag is used in many other Generation Z protests, like in Nepal.
The One Piece flag is from the popular anime cartoon “One Piece,” which includes the popular character “Captain D Luffy,” who has the dream of freeing oppressed people and fighting against its corrupted world government. This dream from Luffy would later inspire Generation Z to use the “straw hat pirate crew flag” to represent freedom.
Mexicans continue to protest against government corruption, going as far as to call for the impeachment of President Claudia. Whether she resigns, or decides to pass laws against cartel violence depends on how far the protests go.
Written by Xavier Morales, Anchor