Fenapes Ultimatum: Demands Meeting with Orsi, Threatens National Strike Over Education Budget

Uruguay's National Federation of Secondary Education Teachers (Fenapes) has issued an ultimatum, demanding an audience with President Yamandú Orsi and a meeting with the Central Directing Council (Codicen) of the National Public Education Administration (ANEP). The union seeks a significant increase in the education budget during the upcoming fiscal review, threatening a nationwide strike if their demands are not met. This potential work stoppage would affect all public high schools across the country. Fenapes is also engaging with other education unions within the Uruguayan Education Unions Coordinator (CSEU) to explore broader action, potentially including primary and technical education. The union's primary objective is to secure a budget increase that aligns with their goal of allocating 6% of GDP to education and 1% to research, a target known as "6+1." Current projections suggest that without increased funding, the education budget may even decline. The union's pressure comes as the executive branch, led by President Orsi, is set to send its fiscal review to Parliament by June 30, with no immediate plans from the presidency to alter established priorities that do not prominently feature education. Meanwhile, ANEP's president, Pablo Caggiani, indicated that while the entity will request a budget increase, there is internal debate regarding the magnitude of the requested funds. Educational subsystems have requested an additional 6.076 billion Uruguayan pesos, but a proposal from the ruling party suggests only 2.5 billion pesos, less than half of the requested amount. This discrepancy has led to discussions among teacher representatives on whether to approve such a limited increase. Fenapes has been actively campaigning on social media with the slogan "Let's break the zero!" to achieve their budgetary goals. The ultimatum follows a series of zonal strikes organized by ADES Montevideo, affecting numerous high schools in the capital.

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We reject any and all attempts to intimidate, suppress, deregister, or politically extinguish our party and other opposition parties through means that offend both the spirit and the letter of the Constitution.