FIFA World Cup turns up gentrification pressures in Mexico City, say experts

L.M. says she could get kicked out at any time from her apartment inside an art deco building complex in Mexico City's Tacubaya neighbourhood, one of the new frontlines in the ongoing battles over gentrification. 

She moved to Mexico City from the city of Puebla, about 135 kilometres to the east, and found a townhouse where one of the roommates has held the rental contract for the past 16 years.

Then, this past December, the building's ownership — which is turning spacious townhouses and apartments in the complex into multiple units for the short-term rental market — sent an email saying the year-to-year contract would not be renewed. 

Now L.M. and her roommates, who continue to pay the monthly rent, live under constant fear they could be forced out at any time. 

"It's difficult and obviously it is a risk to keep going in this situation," said L.M. 

"There is no protection."

CBC News agreed to identify L.M by her initials because she fears being blacklisted by prospective landlords, who often Google the names of prospective tenants. Mexico City landlords have denied rental applications from people linked to activism around evictions and gentrification issues, she said. 

L.M.'s case reflects increasing pressure from gentrification in Mexico City, where advocates say landlords are pushing tenants out to convert long-term homes into short-term rentals. The pressure has grown since the pandemic, when digital nomads flocked to the city, and advocates say the looming FIFA World Cup is adding new incentive for owners hoping to profit from tourist demand.

Mexico is co-hosting the tournament with Canada and the U.S.

Maria Silvia Emanuelli, with International Habitat Coalition, an international housing rights non-profit, said