Kicking and screaming: protests at World Cup
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Why are massive protests erupting in Mexico as the World Cup kicks off?
The Economist.
Hello and welcome to the intelligence from The Economist. I'm Rosie Blore.
And I'm Jason Palmer.
Today on the show, Tax in Space and Will India's elite tighten their belts?
But first
When the whistle blows today for the first match of the World Cup, millions of people will be watching. But it won't just be football fans flocking to the Great Stadium in Mexico City. In recent weeks there have been giant protests there over the country's 130,000 missing people. Demonstrators are taking advantage of that rare international audience to draw attention to their cause. The Mexican government had hoped the tournament would be a chance to show itself as a hub for technology, innovation and foreign investment. Now there's a more basic question. Can it keep all those eyeballs on the beautiful game?
This World Cup is going to be the most watched sporting event ever. There's gonna be one hundred and four matches spread across sixteen different cities in three countries. That's the United States, Canada and Mexico.
Hal Hodson is the Economist's America's editor.
The US is going to have 78 matches, and Canada and Mexico are going to have 13 each. And in Mexico, the matches are going to be hosted in Guadalajara, Monterey, and Mexico City. Mexico's posting schedule is attracting particular attention and not necessarily the good kind.
If Mexico is only hosting thirteen matches, why is it under such scrutiny?
Well, Mexico is one of the most dangerous countries in the world, is the short answer. It's the third most dangerous country ever to host the World Cup after South Africa and Brazil. In May, the average was forty-four people murdered every day, and the most powerful drug gangs in the world control not just their own business, but entire swathes of territory in Mexico. They extort legitimate businesses from Money, they can shut down entire cities. It was actually only in February this year that gangsters brought Guadalajara itself, one of the host cities, to an absolute standstill. After a Mexican government operation had resulted in the death of El Mencho, a renowned gang leader, the leader of the Jalisco new generation cartel.
The gangsters basically came out in the street. And took over the city and shut it down.
How are criminal gangs and protest groups planning to exploit the World Cup?
And so they have shown very clearly that they have enormous power to do what they like. They clearly have the capability to massively disrupt the World Cup. But the key thing to remember is that they almost certainly won't, because all that would bring them is trouble. They're far more likely to quietly exploit the World Cup rather than getting involved to make some kind of big demonstration or make a political point. Which would only really be likely to bring the government and even the American government down on their heads.
So is it that criminal gangs are just massive football fans and so not planning to disrupt things then?
It's not out of respect for the game, no. They see a business opportunity the same as anyone. The World Cup is going to bring enormous numbers of people into the regions that they control, and they have an opportunity to sell those people drugs or prostitutes or to run fraud operations to steal money from them. What's in their interest is to exploit the World Cup, just like legitimate businesses want to use the World Cup. to make money. They don't have an interest in messing around and disrupting it and causing problems. So the idea that the gangs pose a security threat to the World Cup is probably misplaced.
Mexico is, as you say though, a very dangerous place. So presumably there are also some plans to make sure that there aren't security risks.
That's right. This is a heavily militarized police force that operates in Mexico, and there are about a hundred thousand forces deployed in order to keep the country secure. But the Mexicans, they understand the logic that the gangs operate under, and so they are more worried about, for instance, a rogue terrorist attack or drones sort of crashing into stadiums or crashing into fans in stadiums.
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
Why are massive protests erupting in Mexico as the World Cup kicks off?
0:03–3:01
2
How are criminal gangs and protest groups planning to exploit the World Cup?
3:01–5:50
3
What security measures is Mexico taking to protect the tournament?
5:50–8:57
4
Why is the Iranian team’s overnight stay becoming a diplomatic headache?
8:57–11:31
5
How is the commercial space industry reshaping tax policy?
11:31–14:20
6
Who could realistically tax private activities in orbit or on space stations?
14:20–17:27
7
What are the new austerity measures imposed by Modi’s government on India’s elite?
17:27–19:41
8
What is the Ashoka column and why does it matter for India’s future?
19:41–21:23