Dozens hurt in major protest against contaminated water in Guadalajara
Dozens of people were hurt and 39 arrested Sunday when a march demanding clean tap water ended in clashes outside the Jalisco governor’s residence, with police firing tear gas canisters and blasting protesters with water cannons.
About 10,000 people participated, according to state authorities, amid anger over cloudy, foul-smelling water reaching homes across the Guadalajara metropolitan area — a “crisis” (as the governor himself has termed it) that has persisted for months.
Policías estatales rodean y retiran a un joven entre empujones, mientras manifestantes se acercan y graban la detención. El momento ocurrió al término de la marcha por agua limpia en #Guadalajara, que este domingo avanzó de La Minerva a #CasaJalisco. Frente al inmueble hubo enfrentamientos y se reportaron detenciones; hasta el momento no se había informado una cifra oficial.
📹: Redes sociales
AC.
— La Silla Rota (@lasillarota) October 11, 2026
Officials reported 28 injured police officers, two seriously, and 31 civilians who required medical attention.
The Jalisco prosecutor’s office said 12 detainees were released Sunday night and early Monday, leaving 27 in custody. Those freed remain under investigation, according to news reports.
Demonstrators marched about 1.5 kilometers from the Minerva roundabout in western Guadalajara to Casa Jalisco, the official residence of Jalisco’s governor, Pablo Lemus of the Citizens’ Movement (MC) party — who last week announced a water rationing plan aimed at addressing the crisis.
Some tore down a barricade and threw rocks and sticks before riot police deployed tear gas and water cannons, according to media reports.
State officials blamed the violence on roughly 400 people, many wearing hoods, saying the march had proceeded peacefully before their arrival. That account has not been independently verified.
In her morning press conference Monday, President Claudia Sheinbaum questioned the police response, saying authorities must distinguish between containing violence and repressing demonstrations. She demanded that Lemus explain the use of force and identify those arrested.
Lemus said he had requested a case-by-case review of the arrests and an examination of video footage for possible police abuses.
The Jalisco State Human Rights Commission received five complaints alleging abuses and requested medical attention and prompt determinations of detainees’ legal status.
The University of Guadalajara said Sunday that three of its students had been arrested and called for their safety and release.
ITESO, a Jesuit university in Tlaquepaque, also said members of its community had been detained but did not specify how many.
The protest followed months of complaints, dating back to April and even last year, about discolored water. Lemus blamed deteriorating infrastructure and irregular discharges into a canal feeding the Las Pintas dam.
The state announced a six-month suspension of supplies from the dam, reducing available water and potentially requiring tanker deliveries to some neighborhoods.
While the Jalisco government estimated attendance at Sunday’s protest at about 10,000, an AI-assisted analysis by University of Guadalajara researchers put the midday crowd at about 21,400, with a probable range of 16,200 to 27,200, UDGTV reported.
With reports from Infobae, El Financiero, SDP Noticias, Uno TV and UDGTV
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