The murder of Uruapan Mayor Carlos Alberto Manzo on November 1 shocked Mexicans and lit a fuse of outrage that could no longer be contained. Manzo, a mayor who openly challenged criminal gangs and split from the ruling party’s ranks, was gunned down at a public Day of the Dead festival — a brutal reminder that cartels now act with impunity in broad daylight. This killing was not an isolated tragedy but a symbol of a government that has allowed violence to metastasize across swaths of the country.
Anger spilled into the streets of Mexico City as thousands, many young people and supporters of the slain mayor, converged on the Zócalo and the steps of the National Palace to demand justice and security. Videos and eyewitness accounts showed demonstrators pulling down barricades around the presidential palace and clashing with riot police, scenes that should shame any leader who claims she is protecting her people. For ordinary citizens who work hard and obey the law, watching thugs run rampant while elected officials offer platitudes is intolerable.
The unrest left a heavy toll: scores of police were injured — many hospitalized — and dozens of civilians were hurt as chaos gripped the capital; arrests were made but the public’s anger suggests this is only the beginning of a reckoning. Reports put the number of injured police and civilians in the dozens, and authorities detained protesters amid violent confrontations, underscoring how explosive the situation has become. Nobody should be surprised: when the state loses credibility, people take to the streets to demand action.
President Claudia Sheinbaum has scrambled to respond, unveiling a security plan aimed at Michoacán that promises more federal forces and new prosecutorial units, but the plan reads like a belated patch on a hemorrhaging wound. Her administration’s effort to roll out a Michoacán security strategy came only after public outrage boiled over, and many Mexicans rightly see it as too little, too late. Promises and press conferences cannot stand in for real deterrence and the restoration of order; lives are on the line and the people see through slow-moving bureaucratic fixes.
Conservatives who believe in law and order should be clear-eyed: the rot that allowed cartels to flourish is political, not cultural, and it stems from a government that has repeatedly prioritized ideology over security. Manzo’s assassination and the mass protests are the predictable consequences of policies that leave local communities defenseless and reward criminals with silence from the top. If Mexico is to reclaim the basic right to safety, leaders must stop blaming outside forces and start delivering real reforms that empower honest police and prosecutors.
There is a lesson here for Americans as well: soft-on-crime approaches and political grandstanding embolden bad actors and imperil neighbors across the border. We should stand with the Mexican citizens demanding accountability and reject the notion that chaos is acceptable collateral in pursuit of a political agenda. Support for rule-of-law solutions, mutual border security cooperation, and clear condemnation of cartel terror are not partisan gambits — they are necessities for the safety of both nations.
The brave Mexicans who filled the Zócalo this week are not radicals; they are mothers, fathers, and young people who want the simple dignity of walking home at night without fear. Their protest should inspire leaders everywhere to put safety first, hold corrupt officials to account, and stop coddling criminal enterprises that prey on the vulnerable. If governments will not act, the people will insist — and every decent person should be on their side until law and order are restored.
