When Generation Z met the grenadiers (and the memes)
It turns out that last Saturday, 17 thousand souls, according to the official count (which is always as reliable as a weather forecast), decided that their ideal weekend plan was a walk with a view of the National Palace. The self-proclaimed Generation Z took to the streets, but the vibe was not from TikTok but from shouts against the federal government and Morena, asking for something we all want: security. Basically, the mood was “we want to live to be able to afford an apartment that we will never be able to afford.”
And this is where the script went more awry than the plot of a 3 AM soap opera. The demonstration, which had the dubious honor of being supported by former president Vicente Fox (yes, the one with “go to hell”), was accused of everything: of usurping the name of Gen Z, of having the generational diversity of a family reunion and, the most serious crime, of appropriating the “Jolly Roger” from One Piece. Because nothing says “serious protest” like the pirate flag from the most famous anime. Luffy must be rolling around in the Sunny Go.
The testimony: between tear gas and the ‘whitexicans’
Eduardo Corona, a 20-year-old Tec student who clearly went for the anecdote for his stories, confessed that his motivations “did not completely coincide” with those of the majority. Come on, it was like going to a Bad Bunny concert as a Rockdrigo fan. He noticed a reduced presence of authentic Gen Z youth, but, plot twist, when the time came for the confrontations with the police, those who came forward were those of the summoned generation. In the end, the initial objective of the mobilization was so distorted that it allowed, in his own words, “prianistas or whitexicans to appropriate the protest.” Eduardo, who had never experienced anything like this, had his baptism with tear gas directly to the eyes. His verdict: it is unlikely that such an episode will be repeated anytime soon, but he does not rule out aftershocks such as the “40-hour march.” Spoiler: no one can last 40 hours without a portable charger.
On the other hand, Óscar Venancio, 25 years old and a Political Science student, refuted the accusations that the march was subsidized by opposition parties. According to him, this was not financed by parties, but was promoted by business groups, especially the Salinas Group. A detail that, without a doubt, adds an extra flavor to the already complicated alphabet soup of the protest. For Óscar, the purpose was not to “overthrow the government” in the style of Sri Lanka or Nepal, but rather to express fatigue with the security management, the health sector and the tax reforms. And although he admits that there was a considerable population of millennials or Generation
Generational fatigue (and the black block that always arrives)
Sebastián Pedroza, a 20-year-old student at ITAM and entrepreneur (of course, because today everyone has a kombucha startup), summed it up with the elegance of a Twitter thread: he is fed up. Fed up with the government, with unfulfilled promises, with the violation of the Constitution and, the classic, with his opinion “being worth less for studying at a private university, being a man, white and not ‘living the things that people in general live’.” According to him, there was everything in the mobilization: from teenagers to people from the “silent generation” (who probably just wanted silence).
But the most cinematic moment came with the appearance of a black block. Sebastián noted, with the suspicion of someone who has seen many episodes of House of Cards, the “chance” that this group arrived with them and not with the CNTE marches. His theory is that it could have been encouraged by the government itself to dismiss the protest. In the end, the only thing clear is that, with authorities “so closed”, the protesters only receive discredit and disqualification. In short: it was a chaotic day, full of gas, anime flags and a generational identity crisis that left us all wondering, what’s next?
Does this mobilization mark a before and after in youth participation or was it just another episode in the reality show of national politics? Share this article on your social networks and tag those who experienced the chaos with their own eyes. Explore more content about the political pulse of the new generations and don’t miss the next chapter of this series that no one asked for, but we are all watching.
