{"id":619610,"date":"2026-06-03T21:48:14","date_gmt":"2026-06-03T21:48:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/619610\/"},"modified":"2026-06-03T21:48:14","modified_gmt":"2026-06-03T21:48:14","slug":"mexican-teachers-expand-protest-camp-and-threaten-to-shut-down-the-capital-international","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/619610\/","title":{"rendered":"Mexican teachers expand protest camp and threaten to shut down the capital | International"},"content":{"rendered":"

Teachers in Mexico have launched a nationwide strike that is bringing mounting pressure on President Claudia Sheinbaum\u2019s government ahead of the start of the soccer World Cup<\/a>.<\/p>\n

On the second day of the walkout, there has been no progress \u2014 only rising tensions across Mexico City, where the first groups of teachers began arriving last week. Educators affiliated with the CNTE teachers union are stepping up pressure on the government in an effort to extract concessions before the tournament kicks off on June 11. So far, the Sheinbaum administration has failed to calm the protests.<\/p>\n

The sporting event is drawing closer, and Tuesday\u2019s negotiating table with officials from the Interior Ministry, the Education Ministry, and the Institute for Social Security and Services for State Workers (ISSSTE) ended without major progress. The protest camp, a semi-permanent encampment of tents and tarpaulins that are blocking key streets, continues to spread across the main arteries of the city center and by this afternoon had reached Belisario Dom\u00ednguez Street. Some 12,000 teachers, according to union estimates, are now camped in Mexico City with a set of demands that remain unchanged: repeal of the 2007 ISSSTE law (which weakened pensions and increased retirement age) and the education reform, and a 100% wage increase.<\/p>\n

These are, in fact, the same demands as a year ago, when they set up the first protest camp of Claudia Sheinbaum\u2019s administration. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe are just as \u2014 or even more \u2014 outraged than we were 18 months ago. We are in the same situation: there has been no response to our demands, and the president has not said when she will meet with the Single Negotiation Committee,\u201d said Marcelino Hern\u00e1ndez, the general secretary from Zacatecas, after the first meeting, which resumed on Wednesday morning. <\/p>\n

\u201cThey tell us they have the political will, but that the president cannot meet because supposedly we stood her up on May 8 of last year. They\u2019re still repeating that same line,\u201d added Elvira Veleces, from Guerrero.<\/p>\n

May 8 had been set for the government\u2019s first meeting with teachers after they succeeded in forcing the Mexican president to withdraw her own reform of the ISSSTE law. But the CNTE ultimately rejected the meeting so as not to demobilize workers ahead of the imminent nationwide strike. <\/p>\n

The next attempt came two weeks later, but this time it was Sheinbaum herself who called it off, in protest at the blockades in the capital, which had already intensified following the declaration of an indefinite strike.<\/p>\n

\"\"World Cup statues were toppled by CNTE teachers.Nayeli Cruz<\/p>\n

The strategy of blockades has returned with the same intensity, but with time tighter than ever. Teachers cut off Paseo de la Reforma \u2014 the city\u2019s financial hub \u2014 on Tuesday morning and toppled several of the large statues installed by the city government for the World Cup, representing \u201cfootball giants.\u201d <\/p>\n

The Zacatecas branch of the left-wing union \u2014 split from the larger, more institutional SNTE teachers union, which is closer to the government \u2014 proposed extending part of the encampment onto Paseo de la Reforma. But the national assembly has, for now, ruled out relocating, preferring to remain united in the historic center, where the impact is already being felt.<\/p>\n

Spain\u2019s Economy Minister and First Deputy Prime Minister Carlos Cuerpo<\/a> was forced to meet virtually with Sheinbaum after being unable to reach Mexico\u2019s National Palace, the seat of government. The National Museum of Art (MUNAL) has closed until further notice, citing \u201ccircumstances beyond its control,\u201d while vandalism in some areas has forced Mexico City\u2019s local government to carry out rapid repairs ahead of the anticipated sporting event<\/a>. FIFA has also canceled in-person volunteer training sessions in the Z\u00f3calo square, opting instead for online formats, according to El Financiero, for \u201csecurity reasons.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"Teachers from the CNTE (National Coordination of Education Workers) demonstrating on Paseo de la Reforma.Nayeli Cruz\"\"Members of the CNTE playing a game during Tuesday’s demonstration.Nayeli Cruz\"\"Statues toppled by CNTE members.Nayeli Cruz\"\"On Tuesday, the CNTE\u2019s Single National Negotiating Commission attended a roundtable discussion with federal authorities at the Ministry of the Interior.Nayeli Cruz<\/p>\n

Tensions are also rising on the other side. The CNTE has announced that Proceso Columbo, a teacher from Guerrero injured in Monday\u2019s clashes with police, has lost the eye that was struck by a projectile. It is not yet clear whether he has lost his sight entirely or may retain vision in the other eye, as he remains hospitalized awaiting surgery. Mexico City\u2019s security minister, Pablo V\u00e1zquez, said Tuesday that authorities will investigate alleged \u201cinfiltrators\u201d who took part in Monday\u2019s protests, as claimed by the federal government. V\u00e1zquez declined to say whether they belonged to the teaching profession, stating only that they acted \u201cin a manner contrary to that of the vast majority who mobilized.\u201d<\/p>\n

Secretary of the Interior Rosa Icela Rodr\u00edguez, Secretary of Education Mario Delgado, and Mart\u00ed Batres, general director of ISSST, who are leading negotiations, reiterated their willingness to remain at the table to avoid further disruption, and reaffirmed the president\u2019s commitment to eliminating USICAMM, the internal promotion system that has generated widespread opposition in the sector.<\/p>\n

Although remarks from some regional representatives of the CNTE expressed disappointment with Tuesday\u2019s meeting, they must now consult their bases and the national assembly before deciding on next steps. According to union sources, internal debate is intense. All indications suggest the blockades will continue, given that Sheinbaum\u2019s government has yet to concede on any of the core demands \u2014 especially pensions, the sector\u2019s main concern.<\/p>\n

Teachers are seeking a return to the public pension model that existed before 2007, when the ISSSTE law governing public-sector retirement was reformed. Since then, pensions have been managed by private administrators known as Afores. While Sheinbaum opposed the reform at the time and is sympathetic to teachers\u2019 demands, she argues that the state cannot afford a full return to the previous system, as the fiscal cost after so many years would be enormous.<\/p>\n

Instead, the government, led by the Morena party, has opted to soften some of the reform\u2019s harshest aspects. During the administration of Sheinbaum\u2019s predecessor, Andr\u00e9s Manuel L\u00f3pez Obrador, the Pension Fund for Wellbeing was created, through which the state tops up low private pensions. Under Sheinbaum, additional measures include a gradual reduction in the retirement age for part of the teaching workforce and a 9% pay rise. For teachers, however, this is not enough: they see these as partial measures that leave them vulnerable to future governments.<\/p>\n

One year on, both sides find themselves back in the same streets, with the same demands on the table and no clear resolution to the central dispute. The countdown to the World Cup<\/a> adds a new layer of pressure on all parties. The government does not want to welcome thousands of foreign visitors next week with a protest camp blocking the city center, but teachers are not entirely comfortable with the idea of spoiling the event for their fellow citizens either. They have eight days to reach a deal.<\/p>\n

Sign up for our weekly newsletter<\/a> to get more English-language news coverage from EL PA\u00cdS USA Edition<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Teachers in Mexico have launched a nationwide strike that is bringing mounting pressure on President Claudia Sheinbaum\u2019s government…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":619611,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[6225,6485,6486,134288,210430,1120,96,293,137468,1735,210431,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-619610","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-arts-and-design","tag-arts","tag-arts-and-design","tag-artsanddesign","tag-claudia-sheinbaum","tag-cnte","tag-design","tag-entertainment","tag-fifa","tag-mario-delgado","tag-mexico","tag-rosa-icela-rodriguez","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/619610","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=619610"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/619610\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/619611"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=619610"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=619610"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=619610"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}