Watch: Mexico City Protest Against American Ex-Pat 'Invasion' Turns Violent

In a role reversal that underscores a universal resentment of economic and social impacts caused by a major influx of foreigners, demonstrators marched in Mexico City on Friday to protest against the city’s status as a hot new residential destination for American ex-pats and remote workers. Though it started peacefully, many demonstrators turned violent, with some of them accosting Americans and smashing the restaurants, banks and other businesses that cater to them.

Protesters destroying shit of some business

As far as I can tell, this happened next to a building called Casa Roma (not saying this structure belonged to „Casa Roma”) pic.twitter.com/E32f2LjdWW

— Iberian_America (@Iberian_America) July 5, 2025

Angered by soaring rents they rationally blame on foreigners, hundreds of protesters marched through Condesa and Roma — two neighborhoods that are particularly popular with Americans living in or visiting Mexico City — and proceeded to the US embassy and to a metro station. Their signs expressed a variety of sentiments:

• Gringo: Stop Stealing Our Home
• Mexico For Mexicans
• Pay Taxes, Speak Spanish, Use Pesos Or Get Out Of Here
• Death To The Neo-Colonizer
• Expat = Gentrifier
• Your New Home Is An Invasion
• Gentrification = Neo-Colonization
• To Gentrify Isn’t Progress, It’s Dispossession
• We Shouldn’t Feel Like Foreigners In Our Own Land

Protesters vandalizing popular restaurant El Califa pic.twitter.com/UYEkiDWRml

— Iberian_America (@Iberian_America) July 5, 2025

Some of the demonstrators started attacking businesses in Condesa and Roma, smashing windows, spray-painting graffiti, tearing down awnings, vandalizing cars, completely destroying a restaurant patio, and looting. A Starbucks outlet was among the most-damaged properties:

Anti-Gentrification (Anti-Gringo) Protest in Mexico City (CDMX)

A Mexican protest telling Americans to go home that happened yesterday

Thread of every video or photo I found pic.twitter.com/9oCpSllAGp

— Iberian_America (@Iberian_America) July 5, 2025

As rocks were hurled against the windows by the mob outside, Starbucks customers went prone on the floor:

Some clients having to go to the floor in a Starbucks as protests vandalized the building pic.twitter.com/c9Y093aqvT

— Iberian_America (@Iberian_America) July 5, 2025

Video captured protesters screaming at American-looking tourists as they sat at a sidewalk eatery, and a man spray-painting KILL A GRINGO on a the wall of a building.

„Gringos, stop stealing our homes.”

Tourists were shouted at and store windows smashed during a protest against gentrification in Mexico City, where an influx of Americans and other „digital nomads” is driving up rents and pushing out locals. pic.twitter.com/OA0epvmKP7

— DW News (@dwnews) July 5, 2025

Following the mayhem, Mexico City Governor Carla Brugada issued a lengthy statement, carefully walking a line that combined a condemnation of the violence with her own opposition to gentrification, and a defense of her administration’s efforts to promote affordable housing:

„Mexico City does not agree with gentrification…We know that gentrification can exclude those who have lived their entire lives in their neighborhoods, which is why we allocate unprecedented resources to create conditions that allow them to continue developing their life projects in their own communities.

However, we in no way endorse violence to address this issue. We reject violence as a method to resolve conflicts. This city stands for rights and freedoms. We respect demonstrations and social expressions in response to any situation, but not aggression.”

pic.twitter.com/Hk89bW8UiE

— Iberian_America (@Iberian_America) July 5, 2025

The city’s popularity with ex-pats soared in the Covid era, as so-called „digital nomads” — remote workers who live months at a time in exotic locales — came to Mexico City to escape Amerian lockdown regimes, take advantage of the lower cost of living, and enjoy the mild climate.

Protesters looting from a store called Ripndip pic.twitter.com/x47WYvcIem

— Iberian_America (@Iberian_America) July 5, 2025

With the influx of Americans, rents in the popular zones soared, squeezing out the locals. Neighborhoods were transformed, not only demographically but architecturally. One protester, 19-year-old college student Michelle Castro, told Associated Press that she’s watched the transformation of apartment complexes from residences for locals to rentals for tourists:

“There are a lot of foreigners, namely Americans, coming to live here. Many say it’s xenophobia, but it’s not. It’s just that so many foreigners come here, rents are skyrocketing because of Airbnb. Rents are so high that some people can’t even pay anymore.”

More vandalism pic.twitter.com/0TBP5lUYhb

— Iberian_America (@Iberian_America) July 5, 2025

Mexico grants residency permits that start out on a one-year term, with the freedom to leave and re-enter as much as you like over that span. The permit can be renewed up to a cumulative four consecutive years, followed by options to apply for permanent residency or to start the temporary residency process over again…

Diners having to take shelter and more vandalism pic.twitter.com/afrxw2yS9v

— Iberian_America (@Iberian_America) July 5, 2025

…which brings us to an important point. While many of the angry sentiments directed against Americans in Mexico City mirror those that might be voiced against illegal Mexican immigrants in the United States, there’s one enormous distinction that can’t be ignored: The Americans in Mexico City entered the country legally.

Vandalizing cars pic.twitter.com/QHHSp3qaB2

— Iberian_America (@Iberian_America) July 5, 2025