World Cup construction hurting Mexico City sex workers’ income

Estadio Banorte, formerly Estadio Azteca, has been undergoing renovations since May 2024 for the upcoming FIFA World Cup. This is where the opening match will take place on June 11.

Calzada de Tlalpan, the road that stretches from the historic city center south to the stadium, has also been under renovation since the city’s mayor announced major construction projects.

Now, the avenue is lined with heavy machinery, and the construction has caused sex workers to march in protest.

Karolina Longtaim, a sex worker, told Courthouse News Service the government has ignored her and her colleagues’ concerns.

“The floating walkway was a surprise project for the World Cup, but no census was conducted to ask the public whether we agreed or disagreed,” Longtaim said. “With a project that will be funded by Mexican taxpayers, we are denouncing and exposing that these unviable projects have negatively impacted not only working Mexican people and their finances, but also self-employed workers such as sex workers.”

“Only the elite, the rich and middle classes are being considered. Those who have been displaced from independent work, especially sex workers, are not being taken into account,” Longtaim told the outlet.

Sex work is legal in Mexico and regulated on a local and state level. It is decriminalized in Mexico City.