‘All the guarantees’ for a World Cup in the midst of chaos
Claudia Sheinbaum came out. After days of blockades, closed stores and classes suspended due to the hunt for ‘El Mencho’, the president painted a picture of imminent normality. He said that this Tuesday and Wednesday everything will return to calm. Sounds good, but the timing is suspiciously convenient.
The really juicy thing came later. When asked directly about the World Cup 2026, Sheinbaum went into repeater mode. “There are all, all the guarantees,” he stated about the matches in Guadalajara, Monterrey and CDMX. He said it twice, as if repeating it made it more true.
“There are all, all guarantees”
The phrase sounds like an official mantra in the face of the undeniable fact: the riots in Jalisco put FIFA on alert. Almost 100 days after the opening whistle, the world headlines are not about soccer, but about narcoblockades. Terrible timing.
The curious thing is his refusal to apply a ‘Sinaloa Plan’ in Jalisco. He argues that the conditions are not comparable and that his strategy maintains stability. The same stability that led to the closure of shopping centers and universities? The contradiction cries out for a follow-up.
Memory is short, but precedents are long. Every time a global event reaches Mexico, the same script emerges: promises of armored security followed by episodes of violence that refute the discourse. FIFA has reasons to be nervous; us, to be skeptical.
Sheinbaum plays damage control. But between forced ‘normalization’ and ‘total guarantees’, there remains a huge gap full of unanswered questions. The world is watching, and this time not just to see goals.
