Mexican teachers' union rejects government proposal, demands pension law repeal

Mexico's National Union of Education Workers (CNTE) has rejected a federal government proposal to dissolve the Unit of the System for the Career of Teachers and Educators (Usicamm). The union argues that this measure does not address their core demands and has reiterated its primary call for the repeal of the 2007 ISSSTE Law.

"While it is true that Usicamm should certainly be eliminated in educational matters for most states in the country, it is also true that the repeal of the educational reform is not solely eliminating Usicamm, and we have communicated this to the federal government," stated the union's leadership. "But it is also true that at the national level today, the specific demand of the CNTE teaching staff is the repeal of the ISSSTE Law of 2007, for a dignified retirement for all state workers."

The union's National Negotiation Commission met with federal authorities, including the Ministry of the Interior and the Secretariat of Public Education. They asserted that the government's responses did not meet the fundamental demands of the movement, emphasizing that a solution requires deep changes to the state workers' pension system. The CNTE insists that President Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo should lead these negotiations.

CNTE members have continued their protests, including freeing toll booths on highways leading into Mexico City, such as those in Ecatepec, Cuernavaca, and San Marcos on the Mexico-Puebla highway. They deny accusations of extortion, stating that the free passage is a form of protest against toll costs and highway privatization. The union holds the federal government responsible for the national strike, which began on June 1, citing a lack of satisfactory responses to their demands despite previous staggered strikes and protests.