Posted on February 14, 2017

Thousands in Mexico March to Protest Trump Policies

Mexico News Daily, February 13, 2017

Many thousands of people took to the streets in at least 15 Mexican cities yesterday to protest the policies of United States President Donald Trump, but many took advantage of the marches to voice their opinion of their own president.

With an estimated 20,000 people, according to Mayor Miguel Ángel Mancera, the biggest march by far was in Mexico City.

“We are here so that Trump sees and is aware that an entire country, united, is rising up against him and his xenophobic, discriminatory and fascist stupidities,” a UNAM student told the AFP agency. “Mexico will not be his slave,” said Julieta Rosas.

The march was organized by Vibra México, an umbrella group of academic institutions and citizens’ and business organizations, which said it was time for citizens to join forces and speak out together “to express our rejection and outrage over the claims by President Trump.”

The organization said his “discriminatory and protectionist actions against Mexico will seriously affect our economy and threaten the rights and the safety of Mexicans here and there” in reference to Trump’s plans to build a border wall, his tougher immigration policies, threats of deportations and intention to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement.

Many marchers carried signs with messages such as, “Trump, pay for your own wall” and “We love Americans, we hate racism.”

Another read, “Thank you, Trump, for unifying Mexico!”

While another, smaller march called Mexicanos Unidos, or Mexicans United, attempted to rally support behind President Enrique Peña Nieto for his stand against Trump’s threats, the Vibra Mexico event drew many participants who seemed just as opposed to their own president as they were to Trump.

They carried signs reading “Fuera Peña!” or “Out With Peña!” and chanted the slogan, too. Others chose to protest the January 1 fuel price increases and corruption. Said one sign: “Don’t be distracted, Mexico; with or without a wall they’re robbing us at home.”

The Vibra México march took place in as many as 22 cities, the organization said, although media reports counted 15. The largest after Mexico City was in Guadalajara, which drew some 10,000 people.

Other events were held in Monterrey, Morelia, Villahermosa, Mérida, Puebla, San Miguel de Allende, Aguascalientes, Pachuca, Colima, León, Irapuato, Ciudad Juárez and Tequisquipan.