Mexico City, Mexico - Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum promised on Monday that the World Cup opening ceremony this week will be peaceful and safe despite ongoing protests and "provocations."

A teachers union threatened to hold demonstrations at Thursday's opening World Cup game between Mexico and South Africa in the capital over demands that the government provide salary raises and pension reforms.

"We are going to guarantee… that the celebration of the World Cup is well-executed, in peace and tranquility," Sheinbaum said during her daily press conference on Monday.

Her statement comes days after police last week dispersed protesters with teargas and rubber bullets outside Mexico City's historic Zócalo Square, where authorities have erected a massive screen for a World Cup fan zone.

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The streets surrounding the square remain closed off with metal barricades, which Sheinbaum said are meant to guard against "provocations."

Protesting teachers also toppled commemorative statues of players in downtown Mexico City last week.

Though Sheinbaum has maintained open dialogue with the teachers, the union has deemed government proposals insufficient.

Joining the protests are hundreds of people from the Ayotzinapa teachers college, who are demanding further efforts to investigate the disappearance of 43 students from the rural school in 2014.

Mexico City police said they discovered 59 homemade explosive devices on one of the bus convoys entering the capital on Monday, posting a photo of dozens of small white pipes with fuses on X.

The teachers' sprawling tent camps have flooded the city center, fueling concerns from local businesses that tourists will stay away during the World Cup.

"The access to our restaurant is closed off, the people aren't coming, the tourists are freaked out," 31-year-old waiter Jonathan Herrera, who was protesting against the encampment, told the AFP.

US tourist Heather Lutz expressed support for the protesters, telling the AFP that "no government likes their city to look real" during big events like the World Cup.

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The tournament is the ideal moment to "generate pressure" to win concessions from the government, said 42-year-old teacher Dinora Diaz, who is participating in the street encampment.

Sheinbaum's government explained its proposals to the teachers union on Monday, suggesting the creation of a new state-owned company to administer pensions.

But the government dismissed the possibility of reversing pension laws, arguing it would cost around $400 million.

The teachers have rejected the government's proposals while the Secretary of Governance Rosa Icela Rodriguez called for the strikers to lift the blockades.

"It's fundamental that the legitimate exercise of the right to protest can coexist with the rights of those who live in and move through this great city," Rodriguez said.