Protests and a workers' march disrupted traffic across Mexico City on Tuesday, October 13, 2026, with blockades reported in several boroughs and a multi-vehicle collision slowing the Mexico-Pachuca highway, according to Infobae's live coverage.
The city's C5 monitoring center said it was following the march by IMSS workers using 510 video surveillance cameras, Infobae reported. The C5 is the command, control, communications, computing and intelligence center that coordinates emergency and security response in the Valley of Mexico.
By late afternoon, demonstrators had blocked the intersection of Eje Central and 5 de Mayo in the Centro neighborhood, per Infobae. The outlet listed Isabel la Católica as an alternative route.
Why it matters
The disruptions landed on a single afternoon across multiple parts of the capital, from the historic center to the city's southern and northern edges. When marches and blockades overlap with a highway crash, the effects ripple outward: commuters rerouted onto side streets, emergency crews working around stationary traffic, and businesses in affected corridors losing foot traffic during peak hours.
The scale of the C5 response also illustrates how Mexico City authorities now lean on camera networks to track large public gatherings in real time, rather than relying only on officers on the ground. The figure of 510 cameras, reported by Infobae, shows the monitoring effort assigned to a single labor march.
Where the blockades and closures were reported
Infobae's live blog, compiled by reporters Joshua Espinosa, Alexander Ortiz and Anayeli Tapia Sandoval, logged a series of traffic advisories through the afternoon.
In the Cuauhtémoc borough, demonstrators closed Calzada Manuel Villalongín at its junctions with Río Pánuco and Río Neva. Infobae suggested James Sullivan, Avenida Ribera de San Cosme and Avenida Paseo de la Reforma as alternatives.
Also in Cuauhtémoc, traffic was stopped on Avenida 20 de Noviembre from República de Uruguay and Venustiano Carranza starting at 5 de Febrero. A separate closure persisted at Abraham González and Atenas in the Juárez neighborhood.
Further west, in the Álvaro Obregón borough, a blockade was reported on Periférico at Avenida Oaxaca in the Jardines del Pedregal neighborhood.
In the Gustavo A. Madero borough, demonstrators staged informational traffic-light actions at Avenida Fortuna and Riobamba in the Magdalena de las Salinas neighborhood, according to Infobae.
The outlet also reported that the ramp from Joaquín Gallo onto Avenida Insurgentes North remained shut because of demonstrators, and that marchers arriving from Avenida Paseo de la Reforma reached Río Pánuco number 10 in Cuauhtémoc.
A highway crash added to the day's traffic problems
Separately from the protests, Infobae reported a multi-vehicle collision affecting traffic on the Mexico-Pachuca highway in the northbound direction. The outlet advised drivers to slow down and take care in the area. No further details on injuries or the number of vehicles involved were provided in the reporting.
The crash and the blockades together meant drivers in several parts of the city and its northern approaches faced delays at the same time.
What to watch
Coverage of the day's events was ongoing as of Tuesday evening, and the status of the closures and the IMSS march could change. Infobae's live blog remained the source for updates on specific streets and routes.
