Mexico City police teargas teachers’ protest 10 days before World Cup

Riot police fired teargas at teachers who were marching toward Mexico City’s historic Zócalo plaza, just days before the square is expected to host the 2026 World Cup “Fan Fest”. The incident is the second time police have clashed with teachers in the past week, and more conflict is likely as Mexico City prepares to hold the opening game of the Fifa World Cup on 11 June.

“This event will have to be suspended,” Filiberto Frausto, a union leader, told AFP, which witnessed police firing teargas on 1 June. “A cause like ours should be far above – it’s far more important than a little bit of distraction and fun.”

Teachers associated with the CNTE union, which has called for salary raises and the reversal of pension laws, began threatening to protest during the World Cup in mid-May, during a march on Teacher’s Day.

Pedro Hernandez Morales, general secretary of CNTE section 9 in Mexico City, warned that if demands are not met before the opening match “the ball will not roll”, Al Jazeera English reported.

Demonstrating teachers on Monday had broken through one of the metal barriers blocking off the Zócalo when riot police hurled teargas at them. AFP reported that one of the protesters said he was hit by an unidentified projectile, and was taken away as blood poured from a head injury.

On 26 May, Mexico News Daily reported that riot police had blocked teachers affiliated with the Oaxaca-based section 22 of the CNTE teachers union who had tried to enter the square to set up a protest camp.

“They repressed us, they hit us, they pushed us,” Francisca Pérez, a teacher from Oaxaca, told the EFE news agency.

Manuel López San Martín, an Azteca News journalist, shared footage on social media of police using fire extinguishers to disperse teachers.

In a joint statement, the ministry of public education and ministry of the interior said the teacher’s union had been advised that it was too dangerous to gather in the historic plaza due to ongoing construction.

The union has threatened to summon “millions” of teachers to the capital during the World Cup if the government doesn’t fulfill their demands, and could call for a nationwide strike.