‘Not in our best moment’: strikes and tension temper World Cup buzz in Mexico City
An escalating teachers’ strike and concerns around public perception have left locals with complicated feelings on the eve of the tournament’s opener
Mexico City’s Plaza de la Constitución sits in the middle of the city’s historic center and has been a gathering place since Aztec times. Nobody here calls it by its formal name, referring to it instead as the Zócalo. Framed by centuries-old cathedrals and government buildings, it is one of the largest city squares on earth, a monument to Mexico’s colonial past and cosmopolitan present.
It is also a block southwest of the Templo Mayor, a place Aztec mythology referred to as the center of the universe. In more recent times, Fifa has done its best to make the plaza the center of the footballing universe. Mexico City is preparing to host the opening match of the 2026 World Cup, and the Zócalo has been converted into the city’s fan festival. A massive video screen dwarfs almost everything else in the plaza.
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