Sudetenland Tales by Edward Drobinski - HTML preview

Sudetenland Tales

Page 571

Protests in Mexico City against a surge in tourism and rising prices turned violent on Friday night, damaging over a dozen businesses and drawing condemnation from officials.

The demonstration reflected the growing frustrations of many of the capital's residents, who have watched rents skyrocket and old neighborhoods turn into swanky developments as the city has become a major tourist destination and a base for many so-called digital nomads.

The protest also prompted criticism from some officials, who denounced the violence and what they said were the protests' nativist bent.

The protest was initially peaceful. Hundreds of people marched through the streets, carrying signs sporting messages like, "Your new home is an invasion," "We shouldn't feel like foreigners in our own land," and "Expat = gentrifier," photos and videos of the protests showed.

It turned violent when a small group of protesters began smashing the windows of storefronts, including a Starbucks and a bank, and graffiting walls and ransacking stores in the high end neighborhoods of Condesa and Roma.