Mexico City, Mexico — Authorities in Mexico City have detained at least 18 people following a mass demonstration on Saturday, with prosecutors charging some with crimes including battery and attempted murder.
Different demonstrations erupted throughout the country on Saturday against the relentless wave of violence in Mexico and President Claudia Sheinbaum’s administration.
In Mexico City, clashes between police and demonstrators took center stage, with both police and civilians reporting injuries.
Mexico City’s attorney general, Bertha María Alcalde Luján, reported that prosecutors are investigating 18 people arrested for the violence committed during the march. The inquiries follow allegations of robbery, assault, and three cases of attempted murder.
“The 18 people have been taken into custody for various crimes — in very specific cases for attempted homicide, resisting arrest, and robbery, and in the remaining cases for injuries of different degrees,” she said.
Luján reported that there are 84 cases of aggression against the police and four committed against civilians.
Prosecutors also said that at least seven police officers have been suspended for excessive use of force during the march, and two journalists have filed complaints for police aggression, though no officers have been arrested.
“The institution will continue investigating in strict adherence to the law, guaranteeing the rights of all individuals involved,” she added.
On Monday, families of the arrested demonstrators gathered outside the prosecutor’s office to demand the prompt release of their relatives, some of them young students.
At her morning press conference, President Sheinbaum addressed the march by condemning the violence and placing the blame on a “violent group” looking to provoke her administration.
While pledging solidarity with journalists attacked by city authorities, Sheinbaum said she ordered an investigation into the group of people that clashed with police.
“I asked the Mexico City attorney general that it is very important to investigate: Who are these groups? Why this violence? Are they being paid?” she said.
Saturday’s march gathered at least 17,000 people along Mexico City’s largest avenues and Main Square to denounce the longstanding violence suffered in the country and to criticize the ongoing Sheinbaum administration and the ruling MORENA party.
The mobilization was reportedly fashioned under the mantle of Mexico’s youngest demographic, Gen Z. On social media, the movement is calling for a second demonstration on November 20, the day commemorating the Mexican Revolution.
Featured image: Mexico City’s attorney general, Bertha María Alcalde Luján, addressing reporters about the protests in the capital on Saturday, November 15.
Image credit: Bertha María Alcalde Luján via Instagram.
