Hundreds of the ‘Black Bloc’ Clash with Police and Vandalize at the Azteca

ByLilian Hernández Osorio

This article by Lilian Hernández Osorio originally appeared in the June 12, 2026 edition of La Jornada, Mexico’s premier left-wing daily newspaper.

Mexico City. Yesterday, shortly after noon, around 500 hooded individuals and members of the so-called black bloc reached the rear of the Ciudad de México Stadium, specifically the parking entrance at Gate 8, without any police cordon impeding them, since it was the only access zone to the sports venue without protection. In the absence of citizen security elements or any other police corporation, the contingent undertook vandalistic acts against whatever was within their reach.

While Tlalpan had an excessive police cordon, the rear side of the coloso was practically uncovered, so the contingent crossed the Last Mile and slipped through to Gate 8, causing damages and fear among residents of this zone. Minutes after their presence at the stadium, crowd control police elements arrived to prevent further disturbances, but the clash between the two began, in which the protesters threw stones, Molotov cocktails, glass bottles, sticks, and even cempasúchil flowers that they tore from the median that the Mexico City government had just planted.

Earlier, in their advance along Avenida del Imán toward the coloso of Santa Úrsula, the group raised different social causes, from the demand for justice for the madres buscadoras to the repudiation of Zionists. They walked destroying convenience stores, pharmacies, and pizzerias of international chains, as well as private businesses that offered food to fans. Upon realizing it was a violent march, the support personnel and volunteers dressed in white who were at the entrances fled the stretch, as the contingent showed it would sweep away anything in its path.

The protesters reached the facilities of the venue because there was no police presence along the entire four-kilometer stretch of the road. Afterward, the Secretaría de Seguridad Ciudadana deployed mounted police elements and intelligence personnel to carry out withdrawal maneuvers, forcing the contingent to retreat from the gates of the coloso toward the Circuito Azteca and Avenida del Imán.

However, during the retreat, the hooded ones continued with the disturbances, even flipping a vochito from an auto repair shop; they burned cardboard and looted the pizzeria, distributing food among the activists. After the operation, public security elements managed to maintain the protection of this access to the Azteca, while the group of hooded protesters decided to leave this zone until the game concluded.

Students Protested Against FIFA and Poverty

At around 7:30 in the morning, UNAM students gathered outside the Universidad Metro station and set out toward the Ciudad de México Stadium, to join the anti-World Cup protests. Upon arriving at the Frida Kahlo sculpture, in front of the Gran Sur shopping center, other collectives that were already at that traffic circle asked them to carry out their protest peacefully and not to approach the stadium any further, which was achieved until noon.