Mexico’s Sheinbaum Questions 39 Jalisco Protest Arrests
MEXICO · POLITICS
Key Facts
- —The country Mexico, the southern neighbour of the United States. Jalisco’s capital, Guadalajara, is a manufacturing and technology centre with a US consulate general.
- —What happened On Monday, 12 October, President Claudia Sheinbaum said Jalisco must explain how police handled the Jalisco protest, a clean-water march. “We do not agree with repression,” she said.
- —Why it matters It exposes friction between Sheinbaum’s ruling Morena party and Citizens’ Movement, the opposition party that governs Jalisco, over policing and water.
- —The numbers About 10,000 people marched on Sunday, 11 October. Police detained 39, and the state says 28 officers were hurt, two of them seriously.
- —Jalisco’s reply Governor Pablo Lemus said peaceful protest is guaranteed and that possible abuses of authority must be investigated “without any exception”.
- —What it means for you Guadalajara starts rotating tap-water supply on Thursday, 15 October. Expect low pressure in some districts and avoid protests near Casa Jalisco.
- —Still open How many detainees remain in custody, what a police video review finds, and whether Jalisco’s Congress backs a disputed water financing plan.
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum on Monday, 12 October, asked Jalisco state to explain why police used force on a clean-water march in Guadalajara. The Jalisco protest on Sunday ended with 39 people detained outside the governor’s residence.
For Americans, the clash matters because Guadalajara is a major manufacturing and technology centre with a US consulate general. It also exposes a fight between Mexico’s federal government and an opposition governor over how to fix the city’s dirty tap water.
Sheinbaum Says Her Government Rejects Repression
Sheinbaum spoke at her daily morning press conference in Mexico City. She belongs to Morena, the left-wing ruling party founded by her predecessor Andrés Manuel López Obrador, and took office in October 2024.
“We do not agree with repression,” she said, adding that her government also rejects violence at demonstrations, the Mexican weekly Proceso reported. She asked Governor Pablo Lemus to explain why police turned water jets on protesters, saying it was his responsibility.
The news site Contralínea reported that she also asked the state for the reasons for the arrests and the detainees’ names. She defended her own approach in the capital, where metal barriers around the National Palace keep police and violent groups apart.
She also tried to keep the Jalisco protest row contained. “We do not want this to become a political conflict between the government of the state of Jalisco and us,” she said.
Jalisco’s Governor Promises an Inquiry
Lemus belongs to Citizens’ Movement (Movimiento Ciudadano), a centre-left opposition party that has run Jalisco since 2018. He became governor in December 2024.
Lemus called Sunday “a difficult day for Jalisco” in a message his government published on Monday. He said about 10,000 people marched peacefully before a violent episode marred the Jalisco protest.
“This must not happen again,” he said. Peaceful protest is a right his government will guarantee, he added, but attacks and possible abuses of authority must be investigated rigorously.
According to Contralínea, Lemus ordered a review of all videos of the march to examine police conduct and punish any excess. He also asked the state prosecutor’s office to review each detention.
The governor also defended the officers. He said about 400 people, many of them hooded, attacked police with stones, pipes, hammers and gas bombs, and 28 officers were hurt.
National Rights Watchdog Condemns Tear Gas
Mexico’s National Human Rights Commission (CNDH), the federal ombudsman led by Rosario Piedra Ibarra, condemned the police action at the Jalisco protest on Monday. Its statement, reported by Proceso, said Jalisco’s riot squad used tear gas and water jets that affected children, older people and journalists.
The commission urged state authorities to investigate possible arbitrary detentions and punish those responsible. The Jalisco State Human Rights Commission (CEDHJ), the state’s own ombudsman, has opened an inquiry of its own.
Parents went to the state prosecutor’s office in Guadalajara on Monday to ask about detained relatives, Proceso reported. They alleged beatings and said they had trouble reaching those held.
Official and civil-society counts differ. Denisse Montiel Flores, director of the Guadalajara rights group Cepad, said her group recorded “more than 50” arbitrary detentions, Proceso reported.
The Water Dispute Behind the Clash
The Jalisco protest grew out of months of complaints about contaminated tap water in metropolitan Guadalajara. How Sunday’s march turned violent is described in Mexico Police Detain 39 at Guadalajara Water Protest, published on 12 October.
Sheinbaum said Jalisco officials would meet Conagua, the national water agency, on Monday to review solutions. Her government will help technically and financially, she said, but will not back schemes that privatise the water service.
She said Conagua had found that a financing scheme proposed by Lemus involves private operation of water. The plan likely needs a two-thirds vote in Jalisco’s state Congress, she said, and Morena legislators there oppose it.
Sheinbaum also blamed the previous governor, Enrique Alfaro, saying López Obrador kept his side of an earlier water deal and Alfaro did not. Lemus, for his part, says tariffs will not rise and the service will not pass to private firms, Contralínea reported.
What It Means for You
From Thursday, 15 October, the Guadalajara metro area begins rotating its water supply, Lemus announced on Monday, according to the daily El Informador. Some districts will see low pressure, and SIAPA, the metro water utility, and city halls will send water trucks and tanks.
Visitors and residents should avoid demonstrations near Casa Jalisco, the governor’s residence, and check water notices for their district. The US Consulate General in Guadalajara issues local alerts for American citizens.
For investors, the federal government opposes any private operation of Guadalajara’s water service. That leaves the governor’s financing plan in doubt until Jalisco and the federal government agree.
What Is Not Known
The names of those detained at the Jalisco protest have not been made public. It is not clear how many remain in custody, because official and civil-society counts differ.
Lemus has not said when the police video review will end. The outcome of the Monday meeting with Conagua has not been made public.
It is also unclear who used gas. The CNDH says the riot squad fired tear gas, while Lemus says the violent group threw gas bombs.
Any federal role is also uncertain. Sheinbaum said any role for the federal Interior Ministry would have to be requested by Jalisco.
More: Mexico news in English, every day from The Rio Times.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why did Sheinbaum criticise the state over the Jalisco protest?
Police used water jets and detained 39 people after a clean-water march in Guadalajara on Sunday, 11 October. On Monday Sheinbaum said her government does not agree with repression and asked Jalisco to explain.
Who is Pablo Lemus?
Pablo Lemus is the governor of Jalisco, in office since December 2024. He belongs to Citizens’ Movement, a centre-left party in opposition to Sheinbaum’s Morena.
Is Guadalajara safe to visit after the Jalisco protest?
The clashes on Sunday took place around Casa Jalisco, the governor’s residence. Visitors should avoid demonstrations and expect lower water pressure in some districts from Thursday, 15 October.
Will tap water be cut in Guadalajara?
Governor Lemus announced a water rotation programme for the metro area from Thursday, 15 October. Some districts will have low pressure, with water trucks and tanks sent to affected areas.
Sources: Government of Jalisco, governor’s message (Proceso Brand Studio), 12 October 2026; Proceso, Sheinbaum pide al gobernador Lemus explicar represión, 12 October 2026; Contralínea, 12 October 2026; Proceso, CNDH condena uso de gas lacrimógeno, 12 October 2026; Proceso, families of detainees, 12 October 2026; El Informador, 12 October 2026.
This article was produced by The Rio Times’ automated newsroom system. How we use AI · Report an error · Editorial responsibility: Matthias Camenzind, Editor-in-Chief