From Geriatric to Ghosted: Mexico’s Second Gen-Z March Fizzles

ByLaura Poy, Néstor Jiménez and Lilian Hernández

This article by Laura Poy, Néstor Jiménez and Lilian Hernández originally appeared in the November 20, 2025 edition of La Jornada, Mexico’s premier left wing daily newspaper.

Mexico City. Nearly a hundred protesters, participating in the second march of the so-called Generation Z movement, advanced from the Angel of Independence to the corner of 5 de Mayo and Palma, where a barrier of officers from the Mexico City Secretariat of Citizen Security blocked their path.

Initially, the mobilization only managed to advance along Paseo de la Reforma as far as the Amajac roundabout, where Citizen Security elements blocked their progress.

While they remained at the Glorieta de las mujeres que luchan (Roundabout of Women Who Fight), some of the protesters sang the National Anthem, while others reproached the police for blocking their path.

A woman who said she was there to defend her children complained that “if we had a government like Bukele’s, there would be medicine here,” referring to the President of El Salvador, Nayib Bukele. Another woman displayed a sign that read “SOS USA” with a message in English asking for “help” from the United States.

However, the parade commemorating November 20th is currently underway, right at the intersection of Paseo de la Reforma and Avenida Juárez.

After remaining there for almost two hours, around 1:30 in the afternoon, the police officers who were maintaining the blockade moved aside. The group then continued on its way to the Zócalo.

One woman displayed a sign that read “SOS USA” with a message in English asking for “help” from the United States.

As they passed through the Alameda and the Palace of Fine Arts, hundreds of people who were in the city center watched them from the sides.

And after arriving at 5 de Mayo Street, at the corner of Palma, one block from the Zócalo square, police officers again blocked their path.

With shouts of “Long live Mexico!” and slogans against Morena, the hundred or so protesters demand freedom and the right to advance to the Zócalo square.

Help the Aged.

The demonstration proceeded peacefully and was comprised mainly of adults and senior citizens, who identified themselves as the “parents” of Generation Z. The presence of media outlets and street vendors was notable, outnumbering the demonstrators by more than two to one.

The march began at the Angel of Independence with only about twenty protesters, who claimed that the lack of attendees was due to the fact that “people are working.” The protesters began their advance surrounded by almost a hundred media representatives.

The lack of protesters did not prevent a dozen vendors from arriving on time, offering flags with the image of the One Piece manga, hats with black bows, and Mexican flags with the face of Carlos Manzo.

Meanwhile, there were no gatherings at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM).

Despite the fact that they called for a gathering at 9 a.m. at the mural of the Central Library, absolutely no one arrived, which showed that students from this university did not organize this protest.

The media arrived from 8:30 in the morning, waiting for the arrival of the protesters, but no group gathered until 11:00 a.m.

The closure of roads for the commemoration of November 20th and the call for the Generation Z march caused the closure of roads and Metro stations. On Paseo de la Reforma, the Garibaldi station and the Metrobús line 7 stations from Glorieta Violeta remained closed. In the Metro transportation system, stations on five lines were closed: Zócalo, Allende, Pino Suárez, Hidalgo and Revolución.

A very placid morning at UNAM.

In the case of the Metrobús, the following stations remain closed: Buenavista to Moctezuma. The north and south routes are canceled. Service is suspended from San Lázaro to Alameda Oriente and from Hidalgo to Alameda Tacubaya. In addition to the Mina to Balderas service, there is service from Tenayuca to Buenavista and from Cuauhtémoc to Pueblo Santa Cruz Atoyac, but no service to the Indios Verdes route. There is also service from Plaza de la República to Mercado Sonora Sur.

According to the protesters, who informed the rest with the help of a megaphone, personnel from the capital’s government approached them to explain that there would be access to the Zócalo plaza for another six hours, after which they began to leave.

However, a group ran to try to enter through the Madero walkway, but they ran into another group of uniformed officers. After chanting some slogans again, they finally withdrew shortly before 3:00 p.m.