The abuses of reason and "democracy" being committed in connection with the reform of teachers' labor rights, disguised as "education reform," compels us to repeat that, under the Constitution, democracy is
"not only a legal structure and a political regime but ... a system of life based on the constant economic, social and cultural improvement of the people."
The so-called "education reform" violates the democratic legal structure, it violates the democratic political regime, and it contravenes the mandate to improve the economic, social and cultural conditions of the people. Look, it doesn't even take note of these conditions. Therefore, this reform is, in essence, unconstitutional.
No one ignores, even the involved political actors don't conceal, that this reform was agreed upon in this mechanism of dark and corrupt negotiations--oblivious to the people and to the forms of government that it has been given--that is, the so-called Pact for Mexico. The Congress and state legislatures, the "sovereign bodies," were relegated to the role of extras. In sessions during which constitutional reforms and "secondary laws" [needed for implementation] were approved, the PRI [Party of the Institutional Revolution], the PAN [National Action Party] and their cohorts (including a fraction of the PRD [Party of the Democratic Revolution]) shamelessly violated the regulation of these legislative bodies and mocked the few peoples' representatives who asked to be heard in order that their reasoning might be discussed.
I take as an example Jesús Silva Herzog Márques's clear, concise statement, which appears in an article entitled "A Government Without Arguments." Read in the context of the education reform, it is priceless (sorry for the cliche) for stating:
"Democracy can be understood as a complex deliberative process, that is, a demanding system not only with respect to the law but for argumentation. The undemocratic regime that dominates our country (the three branches included), in addition to violating the law, refuses to discuss, not only with the opposition party and the organizations that have driven the growing social mobilization against education reform, but refuses to discuss with academics and specialists that the regime itself has recognized as authorities on the subject." [Emphasis added.]
In March, after approval of amendments to the Constitution, and five months before approval of the secondary legislation, the Senate held a seminar titled Constitutional Education Reform: Achievements and Challenges. As a result, a 250-page book of essays was published, whose aim is
"to contribute to awareness of educational reality and offer an input for the deliberations of legislators."
Obviously, in the process of approving these "secondary laws," lawmakers snubbed this "input"; it is understood that they had decided not to deliberate, but agreed to accept and enforce the "pact."
The book, published by the Belisario Domínguez Institute, was coordinated by Rodolfo Ramírez, experienced elementary school teacher, director of the valuable magazine Zero in Conduct, former director of the SEP [Secretariat of Public Education] Educational Research Department and author of numerous works on education. In the introduction, Professor Ramírez warns:
"The national experience, and that of other countries, indicates that the chances of reform to achieve its purposes depends, among other factors, on effective involvement of stakeholders in the development of criteria and in the definition and implementation of actions. Consequently, it is essential to promote participation of key stakeholders--teachers, managers and state authorities--in the development of regulatory legislation and other actions arising from the reform ...."
In another of the essays that make up the work, Mario Rueda, a prominent researcher specialized in educational assessment and former director of the National Institute for the Evaluation of Education, agrees with this warning and states:
"The opinion of the teachers is critical because they are, in large measure, the reform's implementers ... [It] is essential to include the voices of student representatives and of the parents, because they are also involved, in large measure, in implementing this reform ...."
The work of these distinguished specialists [turned out to be] useless since neither the Senators (nor the Deputies) made any effort to consult with teachers, parents or students, nor did they hear the multitudinous voices that spoke out and continue to speak out in the country. They only listened to the dictates of the Pact for Mexico, whose signers meekly followed the script produced by Televisa / Mexicanos Primero [Mexicans First, civic-business group with ties to Televisa] and the OECD [Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development], and the urgencies arising from the political interests of Peña Nieto's government.
All the essays published in the book recognize the need for education reform and implementation of a teacher evaluation system, but, Professor Ramírez warns,
"the design of that system cannot be subject to the demands of legitimation of public authorities and the rhythms of education policy, which are almost always dominated by short-term [considerations]."
To this warning is added that of Elsie Rockwell, who knows in depth life in Mexican schools:
"Measures taken according to political rhythms, marked by campaign promises and the urgency of achieving visible and politically profitable results in the short term, tend to be counterproductive, since they interrupt the necessarily long-term processes of consolidation of school reforms."
Elsie Rockwell's essay, "The Complexity of the Teacher's Job and Challenges for Its Evaluation," is another valuable "input" ignored by the legislators. It deserves another article to give it full consideration.
In the headlong pursuit of their political interests, the current government tramples on reason; their actions are in keeping with the facade of democracy that characterizes this administration. It rides roughshod over teachers, students, parents, and it runs over the academic work of academic professionals dedicated to education and summoned in order to discuss it. Spanish original
*Manuel Pérez Rocha, current president of the Autonomous University of Mexico City (UACM), trained as a civil engineer focused on education planning; in this capacity, he served with UNESCO. Before becoming president of the UACM, Rocha served as Consultant to the Institute of High School Education for Mexico City; Coordinator of Education Issues (Mexico City); General Coordinator of Inter-institutional Committees for the Evaluation of University sponsored by the Secretariat of Public Education and the National Association of Universities and Colleges.
Related MV Content: Education in Mexico: The Politics of Reform and the Alliance for Quality Education.