Protests against Mexico mass tourism end in violence

Demonstrators attack a dining area at the end of peaceful protest that turned violent against gentrification, as the increase in remote workers has risen prices and increased housing demand in neighborhoods like Condesa and Roma, in Mexico City, Friday, July 4, 2025. —AP

MEXICO CITY—A protest by hundreds against gentrification and mass tourism that began peacefully Friday in Mexico City neighborhoods popular with tourists turned violent when a small number of people began smashing storefronts and harassing foreigners.

Masked protesters smashed through the windows and looted high-end businesses in the touristic areas of Condesa and Roma, and screamed at tourists in the area.

Graffiti on glass windows read: “Get out of Mexico.” Protesters held signs reading “gringos, stop stealing our home” and demanding local legislation to better regulate tourism levels and stricter housing laws.

A protest sign is displayed on a makeshift clothesline during a demonstration against gentrification, as the increase in remote workers has risen prices and increased housing demand in neighborhoods like Condesa and Roma, in Mexico City, Friday, July 4, 2025. —AP

Peaceful start

Marchers then continued on to protest outside the US Embassy and chanted inside the city’s metro system. Police reinforcements gathered outside the Embassy building as police sirens rung out in the city center Friday evening.

It marked a violent end to a more peaceful march throughout the day calling out against masses of American tourists who have flooded into Mexico’s capital in recent years.

Tension had been mounting in the city since American “digital nomads” flocked to Mexico City in 2020, many to escape coronavirus lockdowns in the United States or take advantage of cheaper rent prices in the Latin American city.

A man points to his Mexican ID to prove his nationality as people protest against gentrification, as the increase in remote workers has risen prices and increased housing demand in neighborhoods like Condesa and Roma, in Mexico City, Friday, July 4, 2025. —AP

Since then, rents have soared and locals have increasingly gotten pushed out of their neighborhoods, particularly areas like Condesa and Roma, lush areas packed with coffee shops and restaurants.

Michelle Castro, a 19-year-old college student, was among the flocks of people protesting. She said that she’s from the city’s working class city center, and that she has watched apartment buildings being turned into to housing for tourists.

“Mexico City is going through a transformation,” Castro said. “There are a lot of foreigners, namely Americans, coming to live here. Many say it’s xenophobia, but it’s not. It’s just that so many foreigners come here, rents are skyrocketing because of AirB&B. Rents are so high that some people can’t even pay anymore.”