2023-12-09 12:08:21
By CST, Mexico
On December 5, the largest march of the CDMX teachers of AMLO’s six-year term took place and one of the most numerous and combative in many years. The day was one of work stoppage and mobilization. Without a doubt, this struggle that emerged from the grassroots marks a turning point in the relationship between education workers and the government of Mexico City, whose “Boss”, Claudia Scheinbaum, is the government’s candidate for president in the 2024 elections.
More than 15 thousand primary, secondary, auxiliary and High School teachers participated in the march through the city center and the Zócalo square. The majority are young people, self-organized by schools, convened by the CNTE, National Coordinator of Education Workers. Organization that is a few days away from celebrating 44 years of struggle. The day was the product of a deep and massive discontent and indignation at the grassroots upon learning of the paltry salary increase agreed upon by the CDMX Secretariat of Education with the “charros”, the SNTE bureaucracy.
Objectively, CDMX is the entity where teachers have their salaries and benefits furthest behinds. Furthermore, the majority of young teachers have one position, unlike the older ones who have two positions, full time and their salaries are higher. More generally, the salary issue is a factor of widespread discomfort among workers throughout the country, due to the neoliberal policy of an undervalued dollar and a “strong peso” causing shortages.
Faced with this true demonstration of force by the mobilized teachers, the government received a Negotiating Commission of the CNTE and the Democratic Sections 9th, 10th, 11th and 60th, when in reality until then it had tried to ignore their representativeness, prioritizing the “charros” as interlocutors . Already in the first meetings, the government recognized that “the teachers’ claim is fair”, that the day of strike will not be discounted, that there will be no retaliation and that it will seek to adapt the CDMX budget, to ““Seek a solution to salary demands at negotiation tables.”
The CNTE facing a possible change of course
It is a fact that the “authorities” and the heir candidate of Morena and the 4T have already taken note that The force emerged from the bases in the face of grievances against public education and teachers during this six-year term and the call of the CNTE channeled it. The important thing now is that teachers and the numerous activists of the CNTE reflect on how we got to this situation of loss of benefits and wage lag.
From the beginning of his six-year term, AMLO dedicated himself to fragmenting and dispersing the National Coordinator. And for that he used his privileged tactic: hypnotizing the “comrades” of the CNTE with his demagogic rhetoric. Almost 20 meetings in the National Palace with the representatives of the sections served the conjurer to anesthetize everyone, co-opt some and neutralize others. Thus AMLO managed to impose a “new” educational reform, defrauding those who faced Peña Nieto’s “misnamed” educational reform. And most seriously, it achieved what other neoliberal governments could not do for decades: fragment and demobilize the CNTE to prioritize its relationship with the continuity of charrism in the SNTE.
The next few months and next year will show whether the change of course occurs or not. To overcome fragmentation and move forward towards a true National Coordinationit will be necessary to construct a teaching direction democratic and committed to the needs and struggles of teachers and not to electoral candidacies, promises from governors or federal power. From the CST and the LIT-CI we will contribute all our modest efforts to achieve this objective.
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