FROM THE OUTSIDE | Mexican society is put to the test

Por

José Carreño Figueras

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Publicado: 7/7/2025 · 2:48 p.m. MX | Actualizado: 7/7/2025 · 2:48 p.m. MX

In Mexico City, a protest against the presence of American “digital nomads” who have made the city their home ended with broken windows, graffiti, and the harsh reminder that the foolishness of xenophobia isn’t exclusive to the United States or Europe.

It also lives here.

The march can be viewed as part of the anti-tourist sentiment that has erupted across Europe and now appears to be spreading to Mexico.

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But it might also be a simpler case of xenophobia—constantly simmering, always ready to surface under the hypocritical notion that migrants are welcome, just not near my house.

Or maybe it’s a genuine expression of frustration with a deeply unfair system, where housing costs keep rising beyond what most people can afford. Or perhaps it was just an excuse to remind the authorities that there are leaders and groups whose demands remain unmet.

The issue is that in these types of protests, some individuals feel empowered to release their anger—knowing the police won’t arrest them, not even symbolically. As a result, they break windows, deface monuments, and cause damage.

The supposed reason? Locals who feel pushed out or displaced by “hordes” of tourists, travelers, or temporary foreign residents. In Mexico’s case, it’s young professionals with U.S.-based jobs who can work remotely from Mexico at a much lower cost than in their own country.

The deeper problem is the increasing number of Mexicans with ambitions but lacking access to quality education or real opportunities to better their lives. That’s why there’s a surge in low-quality “degree mills” and young professionals entering a job market that doesn’t need them.

And yet, we have also seen how Mexico treats migrants: from the best—solidarity, warmth, and support—to the worst—indifference and outright hostility.

This protest was revealing. The resentment toward “gringos” who have transformed neighborhoods like Roma and Condesa into something like the Zona Rosa 50 years ago may also reflect echoes of historical tensions and discomfort with cultural and social changes.

But honestly, it also reminds me of the arguments used in the U.S. against Mexican migrants, whether documented or not.

And on both sides of the border, those arguments are inaccurate, ignorant, and damaging.

Of course, not all migrants are good. Like any group, there are good ones, bad ones, and everyone in between—innocents, fugitives, dreamers.

They could be Venezuelan or Cuban refugees, digital nomads from the U.S. or Europe, or they might be Mexican.

But the challenge they pose is the same for everyone: whether digital nomads, political refugees, or migrants driven by necessity, they all test the decency and tolerance of receiving societies.

José Carreño Figueras