Two Teachers Arrested in Sonora After Blocking Roads for Childcare Funds

Two teachers were arrested in Hermosillo, Sonora, on Wednesday, July 29, after participating in road blockades that disrupted traffic for over seven hours. The teachers, identified as Guadalupe Lizeth Villalobos López, president of the organization Conservando los Valores de la Familia (Covafam), and Valeria López López, a member, were detained at a major intersection where protesters had blocked vehicle access.

The protest began around 8 a.m. as part of a broader movement by the Movimiento Social de los Excluidos (Movex), which includes Covafam, the Asociación de Estudiantes Sonorenses (Adeus), and the Movimiento del Río Sonora. The demonstrators initially blocked several key intersections in Hermosillo, causing significant traffic congestion.

Their action is in solidarity with a 100-day citizen protest and resistance by Covafam teachers and a 70-day hunger strike by 81-year-old lawyer Jorge García Ramírez outside the Sonora Congress. The groups are demanding that legislators comply with a federal court resolution mandating the allocation of resources for childcare centers. They also seek to harmonize the local constitution with the 2019 federal reform concerning early childhood education.

Despite attempts at dialogue by the state government, including the undersecretary of Government, Bernardette Ruiz, the protesters insisted on written agreements, not just discussions. From a negotiation table at the Secretariat of Education and Culture, Jorge García Ramírez accused authorities of lacking the will to reach a resolution. Following the arrests, the collective Buscadoras por la Paz and Adeus have raised concerns about the potential violation of rights to freedom of expression, peaceful assembly, and due process.