DistantNews
Support us
Interior Ministry Calls on CNTE to Protest Peacefully; Teachers Accuse of Double Talk, Repression, and Harassment
🇲🇽 Mexico /Culture & Society

Interior Ministry Calls on CNTE to Protest Peacefully; Teachers Accuse of Double Talk, Repression, and Harassment

From El Universal · () Spanish

Translated from Spanish, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Official statement Context piece
  • Mexico's Interior Secretary Rosa Icela Rodríguez urged the CNTE teachers' union to protest peacefully, denying government repression.
  • Rodríguez stated President Claudia Sheinbaum's instruction is to keep dialogue open and analyze all demands from the dissident teachers.
  • The government proposed technical working groups to address key demands, including reforms to the ISSSTE law and the elimination of USICAMM, acknowledging budget constraints for some issues.

Mexico's Secretary of the Interior, Rosa Icela Rodríguez, has called on the National Union of Education Workers (CNTE) to conduct their protests peacefully and with respect for the rights of others. She firmly denied that the Mexican government employs repression to resolve conflicts with teachers.

We do not use repression as a mechanism to resolve social conflicts. Repression will never be the way.

— Rosa Icela RodríguezMexico's Secretary of the Interior addressing the CNTE's protests and denying government repression.

Rodríguez emphasized that President Claudia Sheinbaum has instructed officials to maintain open dialogue and meticulously review each demand presented by the dissident educators. "The instruction that the President of Mexico gave to this Commission of public servants is unequivocal: analyze and respond one by one to the proposals put forth by the teachers of the CNTE. Let no demand be ignored," she stated.

During a meeting also attended by the Secretary of Public Education and the director of ISSSTE, the government proposed establishing technical working groups. These groups, comprising CNTE representatives, specialists, and government officials, would explore viable solutions for two primary concerns: reforms to the 2007 ISSSTE Law and the dissolution of the Unit for the System of Teacher Career and Professional Development (USICAMM). Discussions also covered pensions, labor processes, and administrative conditions for educators.

The instruction that the President of Mexico gave to this Commission of public servants is unequivocal: analyze and respond one by one to the proposals put forth by the teachers of the CNTE. Let no demand be ignored.

— Rosa Icela RodríguezMexico's Secretary of the Interior relaying President Sheinbaum's directive on handling CNTE's demands.

Rodríguez reiterated that negotiation tables remain permanently open for the CNTE leadership to return to dialogue whenever they choose. While acknowledging that some demands face budgetary limitations, she assured that the government is committed to reaching agreements. "What cannot be done is due to a lack of budget; it is not a lack of will," she affirmed.

What cannot be done is due to a lack of budget; it is not a lack of will.

— Rosa Icela RodríguezMexico's Secretary of the Interior explaining budgetary constraints on fulfilling some CNTE demands.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by El Universal in Spanish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

More Stories

From Our Blog