José Ignacio Lizárraga, 78, was accused on social media of discriminating against a construction worker in Mazatlán, Sinaloa, but the accused asserted: “I never insulted anyone. I only asked them not to block my door.”
The man, who said he had lived on Cruz Lizárraga Avenue in the port of Mazatlán for more than 35 years, denied having engaged in any act of discrimination or humiliation toward a construction worker, as recently reported on social media. Lizárraga maintained that the incident was the result of him asking a construction worker who was eating in front of his home to move so as not to obstruct the pedestrian walkway or the entrances to his house.
The press originally reported that Lizárraga was a foreign tourist. This prompted dozens of people to gather on Cruz Lizárraga Avenue in the Tellerías neighborhood this Wednesday to protest what they interpreted as a humiliation of a Mexican citizen on his own territory by a foreigner. They even threw eggs at the alleged attacker’s home.
“I’m 78 years old, diabetic, and I can’t physically confront anyone. I just asked him not to block the doors,” he commented on the alleged attack on the builder. Lizárraga explained that for years he has asked workers from the towers being built around his home not to set up shop directly in front of his entrance.
He noted that food is for sale at his home, which is why he needs unrestricted access for customers, suppliers, and delivery drivers. He claimed that the incident was recorded last Monday without his consent by a person who shared the video on social media, accompanying it with a false narrative: that an American humiliated a Mexican employee.
“That is totally false. I am Mexican, from Mazatlan, and I never insulted anyone. I only asked them not to lean on my wall,” he clarified. What is seen in the video, he stated, is when he approached and tried to speak to the construction worker, who eventually left.
Lizárraga stated that his wife had to call the authorities after threats, banging on the doors of their house, and the constant presence of motorcycles and cars honking their horns. “All of this has reached an uncontrolled level, and all because of a lie,” he explained.
