Protesters back at Mexico’s Azteca stadium on eve of World Cup

Hundreds of protesters returned to an area near Mexico City’s Azteca Stadium on Wednesday night, hours before the opening ceremony of the World Cup was due to take place.

Most of the protesters were family members or relatives of “disappeared people” alleged to have been killed or kidnapped by Mexican authorities or criminal gangs.

Police set up a one-mile (1.6km) security perimeter ahead of fans arriving on Thursday and said that they would allow peaceful protests, but only ticket holders would be able to access the stadium.

The World Cup is set to kick-off at the stadium later Thursday with a star-studded ceremony followed by Mexico’s tournament-opening match against South Africa.

Mexico President Claudia Sheinbaum “only cares about her soccer,” said protester Maria de Jesus Soria Aguayo, who has been searching for her son after he vanished in Veracruz state a decade ago.

“It’s disappearance after disappearance and (Sheinbaum) hasn’t done anything,” she told AFP.

The demonstrators chanted slogans and there were no direct confrontations with police.

A group of people placed colorful cempasuchil flowers — used in offerings to the dead — in the shape of a cross on the pavement.

Mexico’s government has faced weeks of protests, mainly by teachers demanding better working conditions.