37 people, including 27 police officers, were injured during violent clashes in Mexico City on Tuesday, where feminists took to the streets to protest abortion laws.
Four officers had to be taken to hospital, according to local officials.
"37 people were injured. Of these, 27 fellow police officers, 1 colleague from the Secretary of Government and 9 civilians (5 women and 4 men). Of all of them, four fellow police officers required hospitalization," Deputy Minister Marcela Figueroa wrote on Twitter.
Residents and businesses in central Mexico City boarded up windows and doors, with police installing high metallic fences around monuments, historic buildings and the National Palace in anticipation of the march.
Rioters wearing face coverings were seen using chains, hammers and even Molotov cocktails against law enforcement.
On 28 September, the day that marks the International Day for Safe Abortion, protests calling for the decriminalization of abortion took place in Mexico, Colombia, Venezuela, Guatemala and El Salvador.
In Mexico, abortion is regulated by local legislators, and until September of this year it was allowed in 4 states out of 32. On September 7, the ban on abortion for pregnancies up to 12 weeks was ruled unconstitutional by the country's Supreme Court, but the ruling has not yet been implemented in 28 states, where abortions without a report of rape or medical prescription could entail imprisonment for up to 3 years.