A Mexico City journalist whose outburst called for motorists to “squash cyclists” and “rid the city of a plague” has lost his job. Angel Verdugo, an economic analyst, delivered his tirade on Mexico radio program Reporte 98.5 after two cyclists had reportedly nearly hit his car on the previous weekend; Verdugo described them as “arrogantly” disobeying traffic rules.
Not only did the incident cost him his position at Reporte, but it also caused a backlash from Mexico City authorities who have worked hard in recent years, through the extension of cycle ways and the introduction of a bike-hire scheme, to make it an exceptionally bike-friendly metropolis. Authorities called the comments “backward” and subsequently more than 200 cyclists, in a protest organised via Facebook, gathered at the El Angel de la Independencia to make their feelings clear too.