The (irreverent) awakening of the zoomers
It seems that the Mexican Generation Z, the one that according to the boomers only lives glued to TikTok, decided to change the infinite scroll for the public square. This conglomerate of young people, between 13 and 28 years old, has revealed itself as a social actor that combines chronic skepticism with economic precariousness and a profound *side eye* towards the political class. It is not a whim: it is the response to an explosive cocktail of uncertainty, distrust and the feeling that the future looks more *dystopian core* than *dream job*.
It all started, like anything relevant in this century, on social networks. But not with a boring manifesto, please! The trigger was a surreal mix: images generated with artificial intelligence and symbols from *One Piece*, the anime of the pirate searching for treasure. A perfect allegory, if you think about it. The murder of the mayor of Uruapan, Carlos Manzo, was the spark that transformed *shitposting* into collective rage and took the protest from the digital world to the streets.
The official response: from ignorance to conspiracy theory
The movement became so visible that, finally, it achieved the impossible: that the Federal Government dedicate air time to it. President Claudia Sheinbaum, from the majesty of the National Palace, opted for the classic strategy of power in the face of what she does not understand: disqualification. His diagnosis was that behind everything there was an international disinformation network, an army of bots and the support of dark business interests. Basically, he blamed the *ghosts* of the internet, ignoring the real unrest that is palpitating in the territory.
As political discourse specialist Andrea Samaniego, from UNAM, points out, the simple fact that the Executive dedicated constant space to him in his morning conferences revealed an uncomfortable truth: they perceived him as a real threat. It was an unintentional *plot twist*. So much insistence that it was a marginal group with no impact only managed to show the opposite. It was like saying “don’t pay attention to him” by shouting it through a megaphone.
The climax and the pause (or the silence before the storm?)
The high point was the march on November 15 in the capital’s Zócalo. About 17 thousand people, a sea of young people, creative slogans and, as often happens, confrontations with the police. The balance: more than a hundred injured and arrests. It was the *main character moment* of the movement. However, subsequent calls had much lower attendance. Analysts point to the obvious: the lack of concrete demands and an agenda as diverse as the algorithmic tastes of its members led to a natural dispersion.
Does that mean it’s over? Experts warn that it would be a monumental mistake to consider him dead. The movement is on pause, yes, but the structural conditions that gave birth to it are still more alive than ever: the job insecurity that turns any job into a *grind* without reward, the impossibility of accessing housing (forget about buying, even renting is an epic) and the constant exposure to the violence of organized crime. As long as this cocktail is not addressed, youthful discontent will not disappear; He will only be buffing his stats in the hiding of WhatsApp groups and Instagram feeds, waiting for the next *trigger*.
The lesson is clear: underestimating a generation that learned to detect *fake* before learning to tie its shoelaces is a risk. They don’t protest with the rules of the old manual. They do it with the language of the now: memes, pop culture symbols and a distrust of the institutional discourse that is, perhaps, their most powerful tool. Structural discomfort has a new face, and it comes with a filter and 5G connection.
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