A protest is scheduled for Thursday at Plaza de La Liberación in Guadalajara, ahead of the Group A match between Mexico and South Korea, targeting World Cup sponsor Hyundai over its business ties with South American mining company Ternium.
According to a 2025 report from environmental group Mighty Earth, Hyundai, a South Korean automaker, is a major buyer of iron ore from Ternium for steel production. The report criticizes Hyundai for participating in a dirty steel supply chain, as Ternium has repeatedly faced criticism from advocacy groups for its destructive environmental impact, corporate governance policies, and allegations linked to the disappearance of two Mexican activists.
Three years ago, human rights lawyer Ricardo Arturo Lagunes Gasca and indigenous community leader Aquila Antonio Díaz Valencia vanished after attending an anti-mining meeting in Michoacán state. Witnesses said they were threatened and followed by several men in cars and motorcycles, and their white Honda pickup truck was later found abandoned on a highway with multiple bullet holes but no blood. The protest aims to highlight the fate of 130,000 missing people in Mexico, some of whom worked in the mining industry.
Protesters are expected to hold banners calling on Hyundai to condemn Ternium, accusing the automaker of sportswashing through its World Cup sponsorship deals. Hyundai and Kia are official mobility partners of FIFA, providing nearly 1,000 vehicles and more than 500 buses in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico, along with 660 Kia vehicles across North America.
Protest movements have become a hallmark at World Cup venues in Mexico. Previously, striking teachers blocked roads around Azteca Stadium before the opening match between Mexico and South Africa, leading to scuffles between approximately 200 protesters and police.
Ternium Mexico denies any involvement in the disappearances. "Ternium expresses solidarity with the families of the missing and rejects any defamatory speculation linking it to illegal activities," a spokesperson said, adding that the company operates transparently and with social responsibility. Hyundai declined to comment on the protests.
