LatinNews Daily - 02 June 2021 |
MEXICO: CNTE mobilises against education reform |
On 1 June thousands of teachers affiliated with Mexico’s Coordinadora Nacional de Trabajadores de la Educación (CNTE) teachers’ union staged a march in the southern state of Chiapas demanding the opening of a new dialogue table with President Andrés Manuel López Obrador over the implementation of the federal education reform. Analysis: Teachers’ unions were one of the bases of support for López Obrador and the nationally ruling Movimiento Regeneración Nacional (Morena) party in the 2018 general election. But the CNTE appears to have become disillusioned with the López Obrador government, which it accuses of reneging on its promise to fully repeal the education reform approved by the Enrique Peña Nieto administration (2012-2018). Failure to address the CNTE’s demands quickly could lead to López Obrador and Morena losing the union’s support in the upcoming 6 June midterm federal legislative, state, and local elections, as well as to unrest in Chiapas and other states.
Looking Ahead: The CNTE has set up a protest camp in Tuxtla Gutiérrez and says that it is prepared to extend its protests around the country if its demands are not met, which suggests tensions are likely to rise in the next few days. |