F C-Sankt-Pauli president Oke Göttlich wants him, several EU parliamentarians support the proposal, and a few Bundestag deputies also think the idea is good. Now sex workers in Mexico City are also mobilizing for a boycott of the 2026 FIFA Men’s World Cup. Unlike the Europeans, however, their aim is not to signal against the racist and imperial policies of U.S. President Donald Trump.
Your problem lies right at their doorstep, or more precisely at their workplace, the eight-lane Calzada de Tlalpan, one of those traffic arteries that run across the metropolis. There an bicycle path is to be built, along which football fans can reach the Aztec Stadium by bike – that is, to the place where on June 11 the World Cup opening match between co-hosts Mexico and South Africa will take place, followed by four more games. 36 kilometers of bicycle lanes will then connect the city center with the venue. The project named Ciclovía Gran Tenochtitlán, laid out in the Aztec city, is part of a noteworthy transport policy by which left-wing governments make the 22-million-strong region accessible to cyclists.
From this perspective, the Gran Tenochtitlán Bicycle Path is an excellent initiative. Just, well, for the sex workers who operate on Calzada de Tlalpan, it will represent a major restriction. Already, stopping on the heavily trafficked street is a moderately life-threatening undertaking for clients. A bike lane would make that almost impossible. The construction already could have led to revenue losses of up to 70 percent, the prostitutes argue.
Fear of Massive Gentrification
The sex workers fear a massive gentrification in the run-up to the World Cup, i.e., ‘social cleansing’ and eviction from their workplace area. They demand legal recognition of their work, an end to police operations against them, as well as compensation payments of about 1,000 euros per month for the losses incurred so far. They are currently in talks with the government, but it has not conceded to their demands. The city administration has only offered access to the health system and subsidies for their schoolchildren. If no solution is reached, sex workers threaten protests and a boycott during the World Cup.
The 200 sex workers who stand on the Calzada de Tlalpan and join the action are unlikely to substantially affect the extensive sex trade during the tournament. But besides them, others criticize the World Cup’s consequences as well. Residents of the Aztec Stadium, now, tellingly, named Banorte Stadium after a sponsor bank, resist the effects of the restructurings: water shortages, expensive housing, evictions. Such accusations are rejected by the left-wing mayor Clara Brugada.
Other social groups are also using the World Cup to press their demands. The militant CNTE teachers’ union threatens massive protests to force new negotiations with the government. Relatives of the 134,000 missing persons announced a large demonstration, farming organizations want to block streets because of the unfair free-trade agreement with the USA and Canada. ‘We will not allow such events while we have to fight to sell our products,’ says a spokesperson.
That may be a bit overblown, but there is no doubt that these days the country is about more than just the World Cup itself. Yet for many football fans it might be wise to attend games in Canada or Mexico and avoid the United States. This is at least what the Florida Migrants Coalition proposes. ‘International visitors must ask themselves whether it is worth risking kidnapping or detention for a football match,’ advised their director, Tessa Petit, to Latin American fans. Many Europeans have the privilege to decide freely. They can then rely on Oke Göttlich and the critical parliamentarians.
