Mexico City merchants remove World Cup barriers to boost customer traffic

Merchants in Mexico City's Historic Center have taken matters into their own hands, removing metal barriers that had restricted customer access. The move comes just before the start of the World Cup and amid frustration over two weeks of closures that have hurt businesses.

Filters had been put in place to control pedestrian access to the area around the Zócalo, where the FIFA Fan Fest is located. These measures, combined with a protest by the National Coordinating Committee of Education Workers (CNTE), had significantly impacted the flow of people and commerce.

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Where does one person's right end and another's begin. These past two weeks have been brutal for sales; not a soul passed by here. Then they even say the police were charging 10 pesos to pass.

On the day before the World Cup's kickoff, some individuals and merchants dismantled barriers in various locations, including Motolinía and Tacuba, and Donceles and República de Argentina, to ease mobility. While these new entry points were permitted, security personnel from the Citizen Security and Government Secretariats were deployed to oversee the situation. One local business employee noted the difficulty in accessing their workplace, stating, "We live off this; if the boss doesn't generate income, what awaits us? He says goodbye to us."

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We live off this; if the boss doesn't generate income, what awaits us? He says goodbye to us.