Protesters are gearing up to confront Hyundai ahead of the Group A match between Mexico and South Korea in Guadalajara this Thursday. Their demonstration is fueled by the automaker’s partnerships with the South American mining company Ternium.
An investigation by the environmental advocacy group Mighty Earth in 2025 criticized Hyundai for its involvement in what they labeled a “Ternium expresses its solidarity with the families of the missing men, and with the community of Aquila,” As a major buyer of iron ore from Ternium, Hyundai has come under fire for the mining firm’s harmful environmental practices and contentious governance, as well as its purported links to the disappearance of two Mexican activists.
The protest will take place at the Plaza de La Liberación in Guadalajara, highlighting the tragic fate of the 130,000 individuals who have gone missing in Mexico, many of whom were involved in the mining industry.
Three years ago, two activists disappeared in Guadalajara after publicly denouncing Ternium for its alleged environmental violations. Ricardo Arturo Lagunes Gasca, a well-known human rights lawyer, and Antonio Díaz Valencia, an Indigenous leader from Michoacán, vanished after an anti-mining meeting in January 2023. Eyewitnesses reported that the activists were intimidated and chased by unidentified men in vehicles after leaving the meeting in Aquila, as they made their way to Colima. Their abandoned white Honda pickup truck was later found on the roadside, marked with bullet holes but with no signs of blood.
The demonstrators at Friday’s event will accuse Hyundai of engaging in sportswashing through its World Cup sponsorships, waving placards that call for the company to “Ternium is against any type of violence and categorically rejects any speculation and/or defamation that tries to associate it with any type of illegal activity. “We always operate within the law and with a broad sense of social responsibility. Ternium is a leading public company in the manufacture of steel in Latin America, which operates transparently and under the highest standards of control in all its operations.” Hyundai and Kia are designated as FIFA’s official mobility partners for the tournament, tasked with providing transportation for players, referees, and officials. The automaker has supplied FIFA with a fleet of 994 cars and 506 buses throughout the United States, Canada, and Mexico, while Kia is set to deploy 660 vehicles across North America.
Protests have become a significant aspect of the World Cup atmosphere in Mexico. Recently, striking teachers successfully initiated road closures around the Azteca Stadium before the opening match between Mexico and South Africa, leading to confrontations between about 200 protesters and police as they attempted to breach stadium security.
Ternium Mexico has categorically denied any involvement in the cases of the missing individuals. A spokesperson stated, “Ternium expresses its solidarity with the families of the missing men, and with the community of Aquila. Ternium is against any type of violence and categorically rejects any speculation and/or defamation that tries to associate it with any type of illegal activity.”
“We always operate within the law and with a broad sense of social responsibility. Ternium is a leading public company in the manufacture of steel in Latin America, which operates transparently and under the highest standards of control in all its operations.”
Hyundai has chosen to remain silent regarding the ongoing protests.
