Mexico is adorned with thousands of murals to reclaim public spaces ahead of the World Cup
More than one million young people have participated in the events promoted by the Mexican Youth Institute to create community awareness
The jubilation unleashed by a World Cup leaves its mark on the host country. On June 11, Mexico will be able to say it is the only country in the world to have hosted the world’s premier football tournament three times, even four if we include the 1971 Women’s World Cup. However, unlike in 1970 and 1986, the business surrounding the game has exploded, and with it, everything has become more expensive. From jerseys to match tickets, which can reach prices of over 50,000 pesos ($2,869). Even to watch the matches on television, a fan must pay up to 1,000 pesos ($57) to follow all 104 games. Faced with these expenses, thousands of young Mexicans have chosen to be part of the World Cup frenzy through nearly 5,000 murals and all kinds of activities.
Since 2015, the Mexican Youth Institute (Imjuve) has been promoting a series of events called tequio, which in the Nahuatl language means building a community through the reclamation of public spaces. The idea was to connect young people in all 32 Mexican states. A few months ago, they invited teenagers to compete in a fun tournament. “We organized the tournament for everyone, for those of us who like soccer but probably don’t know how to play. Just playing for the fun of it. 850,000 young people participated; 56,000 teams played simultaneously across the country,” Abraham Carro, the institute’s director, told EL PAÍS. All the activities they have carried out so far have reached more than one million participants (1,058,265). The Mexican government’s goal is to have two million participants by the end of the year, although there is no limit.
One of the activities that has captivated both the young people and the administrators is the mural project. “The president asked us to organize a social World Cup. Following that logic, we came up with the idea: let’s combine the World Cup, soccer, and murals. I’m very excited about seeing the nearly 5,000 murals in person. People have asked us: ‘Did someone come here to paint them?’ No, no, no, it was a 15- or 16-year-old girl. We’re promoting the creation of an arts lab that starts with muralism, so they can help us discover the next Frida Kahlo or Siqueiros.”
Messages adorn thousands of murals across Mexico. Abandoned walls, soccer fields, and even school buildings were used. In Naco, Sonora, one mural reads: “Change starts with me. We are not spectators,” depicting a young man playing soccer in a green field filled with flowers. Another example is a mural in Guerrero, where a child with a ball watches a plant sprout. One of the themes they sought to convey was unity among nations, a core principle of FIFA, which is currently threatened by various global conflicts.
The latest activity took place on April 22 and coincided with Earth Day. Hundreds of young people picked up brushes and paints to combine World Cup and environmental themes. “We are witnessing a generation of young people who are very aware of their surroundings, conscious of caring for their planet. President Sheinbaum had and continues to have great faith in young people. Time has proven her right: young people today are stepping up to be protagonists of their time,” Carro observes. Hundreds of students and teachers dedicated themselves to reforesting parks and public squares in Tlaxcala, Michoacán, Durango, Chiapas, and Sinaloa.
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