Thousands of people, mostly older adults and opponents rather than youth, marched on November 15, 2025, in Mexico City demanding the revocation of President Claudia Sheinbaum's mandate following the assassination of Uruapan mayor Carlos Manzo. The demonstration, called by the Generación Z México collective, turned into disturbances as barricades in front of the National Palace were torn down, resulting in at least 100 injured police officers and 20 arrests. Sheinbaum condemned the violence and called for peaceful protests, accusing the opposition of orchestrating the event with bots and foreign funding.
The Generation Z march began at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday, November 15, 2025, at the Angel of Independence in Mexico City, proceeding along Paseo de la Reforma to the Zócalo via the traditional route including Avenida Juárez and Calle Madero. Initially called by youth born between 1997 and 2012, the protest drew a diverse crowd, including older adults, students, farmers, and members of the Movimiento del Sombrero, demanding justice for the shooting death of Carlos Manzo, mayor of Uruapan, Michoacán, on November 1, 2025. Protesters carried signs with chants like 'Out with Morena' and 'Carlos didn't die, the government killed him,' along with Mexican flags, white ones for peace, and the One Piece Jolly Roger, a symbol of freedom and resistance against oppression.
Upon arriving at the Zócalo around 2:00 p.m., a group known as the 'black bloc,' with covered faces, used hammers and stones to tear down the 5-meter metal barricades installed for security around the National Palace. This led to clashes with Mexico City police, who responded with tear gas and extinguishers, affecting participants of all ages, including children. The toll included 100 injured police officers—60 treated on site and 40 taken to hospitals, with minor injuries like contusions and cuts, and four more serious cases but not life-threatening—and 20 arrests presented to the Public Ministry, plus 20 for administrative offenses.
From Jonuta, Tabasco, President Claudia Sheinbaum spoke out against the violence: 'They violently removed some barricades and broke glass. We say no to violence: if you disagree, you must demonstrate peacefully.' She recalled the peaceful history of the Fourth Transformation, from the 1991 Exodus for Democracy to the 2018 election without material damage. She accused the opposition of promoting the march with a network of fake accounts, AI bots, and foreign funding estimated at over 90 million pesos, stating that 'very few young people marched.' Senator Gerardo Fernández Noroña called it an 'absolute failure' for not filling the Zócalo.
The protest replicated in at least 38 Mexican cities, such as Guadalajara, Toluca, Puebla, and Monterrey, and abroad in the Netherlands, Germany, the United States, and Canada. In Toluca, about 1,500 people demanded security and medical treatments; in Cuernavaca, Morelos, a thousand protested peacefully against political parties. In Morelia, Michoacán, a journalist was injured. The Generación Z México collective presented a 12-point petition, including immediate executive revocation, total transparency, independent audits, demilitarization of security, and greater citizen participation. Social media users compared the barricades to the walls in Attack on Titan, symbolizing isolation and inequality.