Mexico City — To get about on a bicycle in Mexico City is an experience ranging from complicated to downright scary. The cracked and broken paving makes it torture to ride anywhere, specially if you’re constantly dodging hostile cars and trucks. It’s frequently said that “Mexico City is not Amsterdam.” Drivers in Amsterdam share the streets with bicycles and pedestrians as a matter of course; here, it seems we do so because we’re forced to. Nevertheless, we inhabitants of Mexico City have the same right as any Dutch citizen to enjoy a complete network of bike lanes to get around the city.

The deficient infrastructure for nonmotor traffic is becoming dangerous for cyclists. In July, we saw via social media a confrontation between a man driving an Audi in a bike lane, Rafael Márquez Gasperín, and a cyclist named Ari Santillán. After running into the cyclist, Mr. Gasperín, now known as “Lord Audi,” insulted Mr. Santillán, and proceeded to attack a bank security guard who tried to intervene to enforce traffic regulations. (In theory, a recent reform of these rules has put automobile drivers on the lowest level of the street-user totem pole, giving priority instead to pedestrians, bicycle riders and public transportation.)

The attacker made fun of the guard: “This is Mexico. Get it, güey?” (using a slang word that can be translated as “man,” or “dude”). The phrase sums up how the city’s residents regard public services. For some, everything public is really private and can be used as they please; for others, it is community property to be enjoyed collectively. These opposing views are part of a wider cultural battle over public space.

Whom does the street belong to? In urban settings, streets and sidewalks — along with parks and plazas — make up the public environment. “Public property” is the sum of all the assets that belong to everyone in society. The government must guarantee equal access to whatever is public; no one should be excluded. Even though traffic regulations now give preferential treatment to pedestrians and cyclists, there is a disturbing paradox: Despite being the lowest in the official hierarchy of street users, the drivers of motor vehicles are the No. 1 beneficiaries of government spending.