Teachers storm education ministry in Mexico City amid negotiations

A group of alleged teachers from the dissident National Coordinating Committee of Education Workers (CNTE) violently stormed the Ministry of Public Education (SEP) facilities in Mexico City on Wednesday, June 3, escalating protests amid ongoing negotiations with the Mexican government. The demonstrators, who have threatened to disrupt the FIFA World Cup set to begin in Mexico on June 11, breached the building's main entrance after several hours of mobilization, forcing down a section of the protective metal fence.

Social media videos captured protesters using sledgehammers to damage security booths and entrances, spray-painting walls, and hanging banners detailing their demands. Some participants had their faces covered. Staff inside attempted to repel the intruders by deploying fire extinguisher powder. The protest coincided with the third day of a national strike called by the CNTE, which also involved blockades at offices of the Institute of Security and Social Services for State Workers (Issste) in the capital.

Negotiations between the CNTE's National Negotiating Commission and officials from the Ministry of the Interior were ongoing, following a recess requested by federal authorities. During an early morning assembly, CNTE leadership resolved to press for a direct meeting with President Claudia Sheinbaum and demanded reparations for two teachers injured in recent demonstrations, one of whom lost an eye from a firecracker and another who suffered a perforated cheekbone from a metal rod.

President Sheinbaum stated that her administration would not fall prey to "provocation" by responding with repression, particularly in the lead-up to the World Cup. She reiterated that dialogue channels remain open through the Ministries of the Interior and Public Education but ruled out a direct meeting with the teachers. The CNTE has been protesting for days, demanding improved pensions, the repeal of previous educational reforms, and a direct response from the federal executive to their grievances. The protests follow similar actions on Tuesday, which included road blockades and property damage.