Mexican President Condemns Pre-W/Cup Protest

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has called protests by teachers ahead of this week’s launch of the 2026 World Cup a “provocation.”

The left-wing leader called the decision by the teachers’ union to camp out near Mexico City’s central fan zone “unexplainable” and a “provocation.

“They want to make it seem like there is mass social turmoil in Mexico, and that’s not true,” Sheinbaum said of the protests.

Sheinbaum assured that Thursday’s opening game between Mexico and South Africa “is guaranteed” despite planned protests.

Teachers called for a mass demonstration across Mexico City that will also include families of so-called “disappeared” people, who are alleged to have been killed or kidnapped by the authorities or criminal gangs.

The CNTE teachers union has been on strike since last week to demand a salary increase and the reversal of a pension law which the government considers unrealistic.

On June 1, police dispersed protesting teachers with rubber bullets and teargas at metal barricades near the fan zone in the Zocalo square.