Mexico: Weekly Newsletter
We hereby share an unofficial translation of the Mexico part of the latest Weekly Newsletter published by Sol Rojo.
As we have reported, since May 15, more than 200,000 members of the National Coordinator of Education Workers (CNTE) have been staging a sit-in protest in Mexico City following the outbreak of a national teachers’ strike. During these first 11 days of the strike, thousands of democratic teachers from other sections of the country have joined the sit-in or carried out their own actions in their states, all to reinforce their demands: the repeal of the educational reform of EPN-AMLO and the 2007 ISSSTE reform, a 100% salary increase, and full compliance with the demands of retired and pensioned colleagues. In response, at the beginning of last week, the technocratic government of Claudia Sheinbaum attempted to devise a divisive tactic within the movement by using government-aligned groups now disguised as revolutionaries, who are reminiscent of radishes: red on the outside and white on the inside.
However, the experience and class consciousness of the CNTE’s grassroots have surpassed the divisive provocateurs and have focused the discussion around the method of unity-struggle-unity, directing the movement’s efforts against the regime. This anticipates that the Coordinator may take action against the electoral farce on June 1, when, for the first time in the country’s history, 9 Ministers of the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation (SCJN), 2 Magistrates of the Superior Chamber of the Electoral Tribunal of the Federal Judiciary (TEPJF), 15 Magistrates of the Regional Chambers of the TEPJF, 5 Magistrates of the Judicial Discipline Tribunal (a recently created body), 464 Circuit Magistrates, and 386 District Judges will be elected through citizen voting.
Despite the fact that this election is expected to have low participation, Sheinbaum has become very angry, as an electoral boycott in her first 8 months of government—combined with over 5,200 disappearances and 17,725 homicides so far in her term—only reflects that she does not actually wield power or have control over the country. For this reason, on Friday, the presidency unilaterally decided to suspend the dialogue table with the CNTE, which led the democratic teachers to escalate their actions by taking terminals 1 and 2 of the Mexico City International Airport (AICM), despite the deployment of thousands of police officers who were left astonished by the powerful force of the teachers’ movement.
Today, Sheinbaum and her supporters, such as Fernández Noroña (president of the Senate) and Mario Delgado (secretary of education), are attacking the CNTE, condemning the teachers’ strike and the call for an electoral boycott. These are just the screams of a rat that will not succeed in stopping the strength of the national teaching force. Here and now with the Coordinator!
