On Saturday, 17 May, the Guadalajara Municipal Police, in the state of Jalisco, violently repressed a peaceful protest organized by merchants from Parque Revolución – also known as Parque Rojo – who are suffering the consequences of the closure of this public space due to renovations in preparation for an event connected with the 2026 World Soccer Cup. Nine persons were arbitrarily detained during the protest, among them three members of Lesbobatukada GLD, who are also park merchants: Rosa Elizabeth Ramos Gómez, Alexis Sayed Aguayo Jiménez and Alicia Sarai Porras Uribe. They were all released after some hours, thanks to the accompaniment of other activists and human rights organizations, as well as grassroots pressure and solidarity.

According to the merchants who participated in the protest, the repression was preceded by acts of intimidation and provocation on the part of the municipal police, who had deployed an extensive operation early in the morning to prevent the set up of stalls on Vallarta Avenue, adjacent to the park, as had occurred on the two previous Saturdays.

The National Network of Women Human Rights Defenders in Mexico and IM-Defensoras condemn this arbitrary repression of the right to protest, and we demand guarantees of protection for the detained activists and for all Parque Rojo merchants who have organized to demand respect for their right to work.

We urge the municipal authorities of Guadalajara to guarantee the merchants’ right to work in the area where they have been working for the past five years, as well as to refrain from repressing their legitimate right to protest.