Mexico Dissident Teachers Announce Expanded Protests

Gonzalo Juárez, leader from Guerrero, Juan José Ortega, from Michoacaán, and José Altamirano from Oaxaca
Photo: Mónica González

Milenio: Elia Castillo 

Translated by Ruby Izar-Shea

Mexico City - The National Coordinating Committee of Education Workers (CNTE) announced a new organizational phase with protests around the country: at the borders, Pemex [state oil company] facilities, toll booths and shopping centers. Along with the State Coordinating Committee of Education Workers of Guerrero (CETEG), it announced that the restructured movement has very concrete goals.

Although classes start today in Oaxaca, members of Section 22 and contingents from other sections will reinforce the encampment set up at the Monument to the Revolution, said Juan Jose Ortega, Secretary General of Section 18 in Michoacán. He did not specify how many more supporters will join them, but did say there will be more than 7,000 coming from the states of Oaxaca, Veracruz, Chiapas, Guerrero, Federal District [Mexico City] and Michoacán.

The teachers also appealed to other states, unions, and social and student organizations to join the labor strike.

"We call all other sections in the country or related unions to join the labor strike as soon as possible so we can strengthen the resistance," said Ortega.

The CNTE will not only maintain its demand that Articles 3 and 73 of the Constitution [changing education laws] be repealed, its "struggle" will now be against all structural reforms [energy/oil, taxes] outlined by the executive branch of the federal government.

Since August 19, when the 2013-2014 school year began, more than 1.3 million students have been affected by the strike. However, members of the committee insisted that children are the priority. They said a return to the classrooms is imminent, but they will continue strengthening the encampment at the Monument to the Revolution, and they will try to find the "mechanisms" to ensure all children attend school.

"As our colleagues from Oaxaca mentioned before, we will take turns; those that work in the mornings will be at the protests in the afternoon and vice versa," said the teachers’ leader from Michoacán.

MV Note: Elementary school sessions are 3.5 hours, with two sessions per day.

Although they were removed from the Zócalo [central plaza of Mexico City] on September 13, the teachers say they will return.

"We are not giving up, we will see when we can return; we don't have a date, but it's on the agenda," emphasized the Secretary General of the Ceteg, Gonzalo Juarez.

He also added that they will be meeting with parents on October 14 and 15 to determine actions they can take together, which will destroy the smear campaign against them. He said the relationship they have with the people, which gives them the ability to use new strategies in the struggle, will make it "impossible" to "defeat" their movement.

He insisted they will take it to "another level" and that the "lack of political sensitivity" to their petitions is causing the increase in protests, because they are "just and legitimate."

After the conference, the CNTE members started the Teachers' Popular Meeting, in which they agreed to the actions that will be taken this week. Up until the closing of this edition the teachers’ leadership had not made any statements. Spanish original