Two months from the World Cup, Mexico City suffers

Two months from the start of the World Cup 2026, the impact of the works is felt noticeably in Mexico City, one of the venues of the tournament, where neighbors report vibrations and damage to their homes, in addition to constant dust and excessive noise.

In the center of the Mexican capital, a few steps from the Calzada de Tlalpan, Doña Rosy attends a food stall outside her house, a few meters from the works that are advancing in the area.

There, near a section of Tlalpan where the capital government is building an elevated park and a 30-kilometer bike path as part of the preparations for the World Cup, a part of the roof of her home recently collapsed.

“The roof fell. We even trembled from the noise and the drilling of the floor, yes, it trembled,” she tells EFE about what happened a few weeks ago, although she highlights that the authorities quickly came to attend to the situation.

Now, she says, the problem is the dust: “I’m cleaning every day, all the time”.

Like Doña Rosy, other neighbors also face alterations in their daily life since February 2025, when the works began, which are estimated to be completed in May, a month before the World Cup.

“24 hours of noise, 24 hours of dust, 24 hours of water and traffic,” summarizes Marco, who lives and works in front of the works, while denouncing that the drilling for the works has generated constant flooding.

A few blocks away, Jonathan Azpeitia, owner of the Coco Pizzería restaurant, describes how the vibrations from the excavations are felt inside his establishment.

“Like a trailer passing suddenly, or an earthquake more than oscillatory, a bit tremulous,” he explains, moving his hand up and down.

In addition to the immediate annoyances, he is concerned about the lack of attention to everyday problems that, he assures, have been unresolved for years, such as flooding and potholes.

Faced with this, he questions the promotion of millionaire works linked to the World Cup that, in his opinion, respond more to a need for “image” than to the needs of the population.

“I don’t think their priorities match ours (…) There are priorities before attending a World Cup,” he says.

The after that worries

He also criticizes, like other neighbors, the lack of prior consultation and clarity about the works and their long-term benefits.

“I would have liked them to explain what comes after (…) not just for the World Cup, but for what follows,” he adds.

The neighbors doubt that the works will be completed on time and warn that, if they do, they will not necessarily be well done, as has happened with other constructions.

“If they finish on time, I don’t know if they’ll do it well,” says Jonathan.

In a city marked by unstable soils and seismic history, the concern is accentuated.

“If there is no maintenance, it will collapse; if it is poorly made, it will crack,” adds Marco.