A protest by hundreds against gentrification and mass tourism that began peacefully on Friday, July 4, in Mexico City neighborhoods popular with tourists turned violent when a small number of people began smashing storefronts and harassing foreigners.

Masked protesters smashed through the windows and looted high-end businesses in the touristic areas of Condesa and Roma, and screamed at tourists in the area. Graffiti on shattered glass being smashed through with rocks read: "Get out of Mexico." Protesters held signs reading "Gringos, stop stealing our home" and demanding local legislation to better regulate tourism levels and stricter housing laws .

Marchers then continued on to protest outside the US Embassy and chanted inside the city’s metro system. Police reinforcements gathered outside the Embassy building as police sirens rung out in the city center Friday evening. It marked a violent end to a more peaceful march throughout the day calling out against masses of mostly American tourists who have flooded into Mexico's capital in recent years.

Tension had been mounting in the city since US "digital nomads" flocked to Mexico City in 2020, many to escape coronavirus lockdowns in the US or to take advantage of cheaper rent prices in the Latin American city. Since then, rents have soared and locals have increasingly gotten pushed out of their neighborhoods, particularly areas like Condesa and Roma, lush areas packed with coffee shops and restaurants.

The Mexico City protest follows others in European cities like Barcelona , Madrid, Paris and Rome against mass tourism.

Le Monde with AP