A rally is scheduled at Plaza de La Liberación in Guadalajara before the Mexico-South Korea Group A match on Thursday, June 18, 2026. Protesters will target Hyundai's World Cup sponsorship and its business relationships with Ternium, a South American mining company. A 2025 Mighty Earth report criticized Hyundai's involvement in Ternium's "dirty steel supply chain."
The protesters aim to highlight Mexico's approximately 130,000 disappeared persons. They specifically reference two Mexican activists, Ricardo Arturo Lagunes Gasca (a human rights lawyer) and Antonio Díaz Valencia (leader of the Aquila Indigenous community), who disappeared in January 2023 after attending an anti-mining community meeting in Guadalajara. Their white Honda pickup truck was later found on a highway riddled with bullets.
Hyundai and Kia are FIFA's official mobility partners for the 2026 World Cup, providing 994 vehicles for players, referees, and officials. Protesters plan to accuse Hyundai of sportswashing while conducting business with a company facing repeated environmental and human rights criticisms.
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