The battle against gentrification in Mexico City: Xenophobia or social justice?
Protesters during a rally against gentrification in the Roma neighborhood of Mexico City in July 2025 painted graffiti criticizing foreigners who can’t speak Spanish. Photo by Luis Cortés for palabra
Like in other metropolises, the presence of digital nomads in the Mexican capital raises questions about capitalism and coexistence.
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MEXICO CITY - The first of several protests against gentrification in Mexico City, held on July 4, 2025, left graffiti on the walls of the Roma Norte neighborhood with strong messages: “Kill Gringos,” “Learn Spanish, you dog,” “Out with the colonizers,” “Death to Airbnb,” “White people: your privilege rests on our labor and dispossession.”
That day, two “anti-gentrification” rallies took place simultaneously in the Roma Norte and Condesa neighborhoods. Both areas are part of a vibrant social corridor that is now the epicenter in Mexico City for digital nomadism and short-term rentals through platforms like Airbnb. Roma Norte is the most gentrified neighborhood in the capital, according to the Airbnb Expansion Map for Mexico City, a digital interactive tool created by architect Jero Monroy showing the growth of properties listed on Airbnb.
During the rallies, protesters said they were against the forced displacement of residents and the closure of small businesses in the area. Along their way, they vandalized and looted shops and restaurants with an international or tourist profile.
On Orizaba Street, the outdoor furniture of the upscale restaurant Sartoria was destroyed. “About 200 people arrived, and 20 or 30 of them started vandalizing the patio, breaking chairs, tables, furniture, and dishes,” one of the restaurant’s employees told palabra, requesting anonymity for fear of reprisals. The employee said they witnessed a foreigner being attacked. “There was a young man sitting outside, a blond guy, I don’t know if he was American or French, but about ten people surrounded him and almost killed him,” he said.
An eatery in the Santa María la Ribera neighborhood in Mexico City. Photo by Luis Cortés for palabra
Sartoria, a restaurant in the Condesa neighborhood was attacked by protesters. Photo by Luis Cortés for palabra
Some media outlets and social media accounts described the graffiti, vandalism, and harassment toward foreigners as xenophobic and racist. The following day, Mexico’s president, Claudia Sheinbaum, reacted. “We reject the xenophobic attitudes expressed yesterday,” she said at her morning press conference.
But for some members of the emerging anti-gentrification movement, the president’s statement was an attempt to criminalize them, and they accuse the government of failing to curb foreign immigration.
The root of the movement is more complex and profound, said Mar, who preferred to omit her full name. She is part of the coordinating core of the Front for Youth Housing (FVJ, in Spanish), an anti-gentrification organization founded in April that brings together students ages 19-25.
“This isn’t against an individual, or a foreigner who is here earning more money; it’s against the system, which allows that foreigner to have a better quality of life than me, who lives here and pays taxes,” she said. “We defend an anti-colonial, anti-capitalist, and anti-racist stance. We defend our right to live, to inhabit, and to develop ourselves freely.”
On the left, a rundown building on Tonalá Street in the Roma neighborhood, from which several tenants were evicted in August 2025. On the right, a building with apartments listed on Airbnb. Photo by Luis Cortés for palabra
For anthropologist Rocío Gil, co-author of the book, “Racismo y xenofobia, Expresiones múltiples dentro y fuera de México (Racism and Xenophobia: Multiple Expressions Inside and Outside of Mexico),” it is important to examine specific manifestations of xenophobia seen within the broader Mexican anti-gentrification movement, noting that these do not dominate its core demand against inequality.
She explained that the rejection is not directed at all immigrants, such as those from Haiti or Venezuela, but focuses on U.S. citizens due to the structural power dynamics and dominance of the United States over Mexico, exacerbated under the Trump administration.
“In the demonstrations, we are seeing interaction with American people, but not just any American; not the Mexican American born in the United States, who is also negatively racialized,” said Gil. “It is the American migrant who comes with a certain level of economic power and with a sort of ‘white privilege’ approach, not just in the phenotypic sense, but in the social sense that articulates class and racial processes.”
For the anthropologist, the anger expressed in the protests is “more like resistance than merely hate speech,” adding, “Ultimately, it is a reaction that appeals to dispossession, displacement, and rising costs, not only of housing, but we are also talking about a very strong cultural appropriation that has been part of the discussion.”
Evicted residents in the Roma neighborhood receive food from community organizations. Photo by Luis Cortés for palabra
Locals and tourists gather at one of the many restaurants in the Condesa neighborhood, Mexico City. Photo by Luis Cortés for palabra
Expanding Nomadism
“Gringo go home,” reads a graffiti message in Parque México, in the heart of the Condesa neighborhood, the preferred residential area for foreigners because of its cultural, culinary, and nightlife offerings. The park has been the epicenter of anti-gentrification protests and a public forum organized by the city government this summer.
On Sundays, the park also tends to become a gathering place for dozens of people, many of them immigrants, who play paddle tennis, dance to Afro-Caribbean music, sunbathe, or walk their dogs.
A foreigner living in Mexico rests in Parque México in the Condesa neighborhood, sitting on one of the graffiti messages left by protesters during one of the anti-gentrification marches. Photo by Luis Cortés for palabra
Sierra Burke is one of the many people strolling through the park. The 26-year-old digital nomad comes from Oregon and works remotely as a fundraising manager for a social organization located in North Dakota.
Burke said she moved to Mexico seven months ago because she does not want to live under the Trump administration. “I love, love, love this city! It’s even better than I imagined. I love the culture, the people who are always smiling, the international food, and my dog is so happy here,” she said in fluent Spanish, without letting go of her dog Phoebe.
Burke entered Mexico as a tourist, but says she wants to apply for residency to stay “for a long time.” She has rented rooms in shared apartments or “co-living spaces” with common areas. Burke said that the co-living space where she lives is owned by Mexicans, and the rent ranges from $350 to $500 USD a month.
Sierra Burke and her pet, Phoebe. Burke is a digital nomad from the United States and works from Mexico City. Photo by Luis Cortés for palabra
Sociologist Adrián Hernández from the Autonomous Metropolitan University (UAM, in Spanish) is a researcher on the international project NOMADIC (Nomad Movements and Digital Impacts in Cities), funded by the European Union. Hernández explained that for a long time in Mexico, the prevailing profile of American and Canadian immigrants was that of people over 60 years old who “retired and came to live in Ajijic, Mazatlán, or San Miguel de Allende,” traditional towns in Mexico popular among expats. But Hernández said a wave of new immigrants emerged during the COVID-19 pandemic: digital nomads between 20 and 40 years old, single or in a relationship, who work from home and have a desire for mobility.
Hernández pointed out that he currently sees another group that emerged with Trump in power and who, like Burke, are looking to distance themselves from his government. This group, says Hernández, includes an “unexpected” segment of migrants: Mexican-Americans who decide to settle in their family’s homeland.
One of the new real estate developments in Santa María La Ribera, Mexico City. Photo by Luis Cortés for palabra
A group of working-class homes in the Santa María La Ribera neighborhood in Mexico City. Photo by Luis Cortés for palabra
Is my house your house?
After the protests, opinions have been divided among residents of Condesa.
Karla Berdichevsky has lived in this neighborhood for 20 years and said she appreciates that foreigners have given the area a multicultural and dynamic character. “They are clearly the ones who spend money in local businesses and keep the local economy going,” she said.
In contrast, Erick Ramírez, who was born 55 years ago in Condesa, said he disapproves of digital nomadism because “it drives up housing prices and displaces local residents.” Ramírez added that he doesn't see any benefit from this sector, since he believes the money they spend ends up in the federal budget.
Erick Ramírez, businessman and resident of the Condesa neighborhood in Mexico City. Photo by Luis Cortés for palabra
According to sociologist Hernández, digital nomadism boosts consumption in some sectors; for example, in housing rental. However, he explained, this demand goes through platforms like Airbnb or Pokémon Go, which raises housing prices and "gradually removes properties from the residential market and incorporates them into the tourism market." Hernández clarified that the cost of basic and perishable goods in the area also tends to increase, which "can be exclusionary for some segments of the population." Hernández called this phenomenon "tourismification (the transformation of a place into a tourist destination)."
Some residents of La Condesa have pointed out that gentrification and tourismification are causing the disappearance of long-standing neighborhood businesses.
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Susana Alanís Segunda, 63, owns a newspaper stand in that neighborhood. She said that in three years, four businesses have closed on the block where her stand is located: a butcher shop, a grocery store, a small restaurant, and an old bakery.
Alanís said that even her newspaper stand was displaced. The old building next to it was demolished to erect a new one of modern apartments, while three ground-floor neighborhood businesses were replaced by an upscale pizzeria. In the spot where her newspaper stand had been for more than two decades, the real estate company placed a long planter to prevent her from relocating.
Another new apartment building is currently under construction on the corner where Alanís' stand is located. She said she doesn't know if they will eventually force her to close her newspaper stand. "I want to keep it open for as long as I live; it's a noble job, I love what I do, and it's my livelihood."
Susana Alanís Segunda at her newspaper and magazine stand in the Condesa neighborhood. Photo by Luis Cortés for palabra
The city as a commodity
On Instagram, the account @AmoMiBarrioSantaMaríaLaRibera (I Love My Neighborhood Santa María La Ribera) denounces gentrification in this old neighborhood, located in the historic center of the capital.
An activist linked to the account, who declined to give her name for fear of reprisals, told palabra that the most dangerous gentrifiers in the area are the “Whitexicans,” a derogatory term that has become common to identify a wealthy and powerful segment of Mexican society.
“They are the most aggressive and have a completely classist and racist mindset,” the activist said. According to her, they are the ones who hoard properties to rent them out through platforms like Airbnb, promote the construction of huge apartment buildings that drive up the costs of utilities, and open businesses like high-end gourmet restaurants or art galleries. She said they are disconnected from the community because they cater to the demands of an aspirational national and international consumer.
Advertisement offering pre-sale of apartments in a building to be rebuilt in the Santa María La Ribera neighborhood, in Mexico City. Photo by Luis Cortés for palabra
According to geographer Jerónimo Díaz Marielle, author of the book, “Le Centre historique de Mexico, De la patrimonialisation du site à la gentrification (Mexico City’s Historic Center: From a Heritage Designation to Gentrification), evictions resulting from the expansion of real estate investments expose corruption networks at different levels of government. Previously, he said, these networks were ignored “because it seemed that they only affected the poorest sectors,” but that nowadays they serve the interests of real estate developers, which also involve powerful private and government investment funds.
“The authorities in France have identified this problem and are fighting to limit it. In Mexico, we have nothing to limit it, but we have all kinds of capital wanting to turn our city into a commodity, and a government that doesn't seem to be up to the task of dealing with this pressure,” added Díaz Marielle.
Hernández, the sociologist, pointed out that, while gentrification and tourism-driven development respond to “global mechanisms of capitalist accumulation,” their effects violate the right to housing in Mexico, but the accusations against it “end up being directed against those closest to us, which is this foreign population, mainly American, who live in that area of the city, and who end up mistakenly accused of being the culprits of this situation.”
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Laura Castellanos is an independent Mexican journalist based in Mexico. She writes about topics related to social transgression and resistance. She is the author of six books and has received the Maria Moors Cabot Award from the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism in New York (2022) and the Latin American Investigative Journalism Award from the Latin American Conference of Investigative Journalism (COLPIN, 2016), among other commendations. She was previously with Radio Bilingüe in Fresno, California, and at the now-defunct feminist publication Doblejornada of the Mexican newspaper La Jornada. Her work has appeared in various media outlets, including the Dominga insert of the Milenio newspaper, the Spanish-language opinion page of the Washington Post, Aristegui Noticias, Gatopardo magazine, and the dailies El Universal and Reforma. @lcastellanosmx
Luis Cortés is a photojournalist based in Mexico City with extensive experience covering human rights issues. He has received the National Journalism Award in the photography category and the Gilberto Rincón Gallardo Human Rights Award. His experience includes covering international events and collaborating with news agencies. @Mexico2020
Rodrigo Cervantes is an award-winning bilingual journalist and communications strategist with extensive experience in the U.S., Mexico, and internationally. He has contributed to outlets such as NPR, CNN, The Los Angeles Times, and the BBC. Cervantes led KJZZ’s Mexico City bureau, where he launched the first overseas bureau for a U.S. public radio station. He also served as Business Editor-in-Chief for El Norte, part of Grupo Reforma, Mexico’s leading newspaper company. In Georgia, he led the newsroom of MundoHispánico, then the state’s oldest and largest Latino publication, under The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. His work has been recognized with RTDNA Murrow Awards and José Martí Awards from the National Association of Hispanic Publications (NAHP). He is the former Secretary of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists (NAHJ) and currently serves as co-managing editor of palabra, and as a clinical assistant professor at Arizona State University’s Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication. @RODCERVANTES