Tens of thousands of demonstrators marched in cities across Mexico and abroad on Sunday, protesting against the ruling party and Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador.
The demonstrations were called by the opposition parties, with protesters donning pink for the "march for democracy." They demanded free and fair elections in Mexico, with the upcoming elections scheduled for June 2, AP News reported.
In Mexico City, thousands of demonstrators went to the city's main plaza, chanting "Get López out" while holding signboards that read "the power of the people is greater than the people in power."
Gabriela Ozuna, 61, a protester, said that she is marching with her family who traveled all the way from Baja California state to participate.
She said that the participation is not just for supporting democracy in the country, but also to protest attacks on candidates by drug cartels, which commonly occur during local elections. "We know our democracy is in danger. What we want to do is defend it and keep defending it," Ozuna said.
National Civic Front, Yes for Mexico, Citizen Power, Civil Society Mexico, UNE Mexico and United for Mexico opposition organizations were seen marching on the streets.
Enrique de la Madrid Cordero, a prominent politician from the Institutional Revolutionary Party, encouraged more people to join the protest. "Democracy doesn't solve lack of water, it doesn't solve hunger, it doesn't solve a lot of things. But without democracy, you can't solve anything," he said.
Cordero shared photos and a video from the protest on X, formerly Twitter, on Sunday.
Una vez más fuimos miles de mexicanas y mexicanos los que nos reunimos en el #Zócalo de la #CDMX y en otras ciudades para defender nuestra #democracia. ¡Un gran aplauso para todas y todos! ¡Viva México 🇲🇽!#NuestraDemocraciaNoSeToca pic.twitter.com/msmwCmDb8H
— Enrique de la Madrid (@edelamadrid) February 18, 2024
¡Cada vez somos más! Se pone la piel chinita de escuchar nuestro Himno Nacional en el Zócalo totalmente lleno.#NuestraDemocraciaNoSeToca pic.twitter.com/CuBvZTlMoQ
— Enrique de la Madrid (@edelamadrid) February 19, 2024
Obrador, on the other hand, told reporters last week that people protesting against him don't care about democracy. Instead, they are organizing the march to ensure that the corrupt people are in power.
"It's their democracy ... the democracy of the corrupt. What we want is there to be democracy of the people. We don't want power without the people. They're the one's that establish an anti-democracy with electoral fraud," the president said.
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