The Mexico City Congress session on Dec. 15 turned violent after PAN lawmakers occupied the podium to protest dissolving the city's transparency institute while Moreno Party legislators were present. Video shows shouting, shoving and hair‑pulling as the dispute widened to involve multiple lawmakers. Both parties condemned the violence and blamed each other, in an episode that echoes a similar August Senate confrontation.
Podium Brawl Erupts at Mexico City Congress Over Transparency Shakeup
Mexico City CongressLawmakers get physical in the Mexico City Congress
A legislative session in the Congress of Mexico City erupted into a physical brawl on Dec. 15 after members of the right‑wing National Action Party (PAN) occupied the podium while lawmakers from the governing, left‑leaning Moreno Party were already gathered there. The PAN said the takeover was a protest against a recent decision to dissolve the city's transparency institute and transfer its responsibilities to a government agency.
How the Clash Unfolded
Video of the incident shows several legislators crowded onto the podium with little room to move. What began as a verbal confrontation between two politicians quickly escalated as other lawmakers joined in, and the scene devolved into shoving, shouting and hair‑pulling before order was restored.
Mexico City CongressA brawl in the Mexico City Congress
Parties Trade Blame
Afterward, both parties publicly condemned the violence while accusing the other side of provoking it. Paulo Garcia, a spokesman for the Moreno Party, said the opposition was "systematically resorting to violence instead of arguments" when failing to engage in debate. At a press conference, PAN aide Andres Atayde countered that his members "took the podium peacefully" and alleged that the majority sought to regain control "through violence." PAN legislator Daniela Alvarez called the episode "vulgar" and "lamentable" for the governing majority.
Paulo Garcia (Moreno Party): "What worries us a lot is how the opposition is systematically resorting to violence instead of arguments."
Andres Atayde (PAN): "We took the podium peacefully, without touching anyone, and the decision made by the majority legislative group and its allies was to try and regain control of the board through violence."
Context And Consequences
The Dec. 15 clash echoes another physical altercation earlier this year in Mexico's Senate, in which Senator Alejandro Moreno and Gerardo Fernández Noroña were involved in a confrontation that left a photographer injured. Both incidents highlight growing tensions in Mexican legislatures over procedural disputes, access to speaking time and contentious institutional reforms.
As investigations or official statements proceed, the episode underscores how heated political divisions can spill into physical confrontations, drawing criticism from lawmakers and public concern about parliamentary decorum.
