The curtain opens again: the masters return to the stage
The National Coordinator of Education Workers (CNTE) did not lower the curtain. What seemed like an intermission became a new act. They have just called a 72-hour national strike and a great march from the Ángel to the Zócalo.
But that’s not all. The strongest move is the installation of a sit-in in front of the National Palace. It is their response to what they call “omissions” of the government and the total abandonment of their rights. The message is clear: they are back to stay.
Why is the conflict returning?
The heart of the problem lies in a law. The dissident teachers seek to pressure the administration of Claudia Sheinbaum to achieve something historic: the repeal of the ISSSTE Law of 2007.
That reform, promoted by Felipe Calderón, changed the rules of the game forever. He eliminated the lifetime pension system and replaced it with individual accounts. For the teachers, it was a low blow that they never accepted.
“This reform eliminated the lifetime pension system and replaced it with individual accounts, a change that has been consistently rejected by teachers.”
We are watching the second act of a drama that paralyzed the capital months ago. The CNTE blocked the city for more than three weeks, an intense mobilization that forced negotiations with the federal government.
Back then, there were some concessions: salary increases and adjustments to the retirement age. But teachers warned it was just a band-aid. Their central demands, such as repealing that law, were still up in the air.
Now they return with more strength. They know that after the blockade they have negotiating power. And they are willing to use it again.
Meanwhile, from the National Palace they paint another picture. Federal authorities insist that they have opened constant spaces for dialogue.
“For their part, federal authorities have defended that spaces for dialogue have been opened with the teachers, including multiple work tables and meetings with their leaders.”
But for the teachers on the streets, those tables are theater without real action. The sit-in in front of the Palace is not just a protest; It is a physical and constant reminder that they will not go away until they are heard.
The teacher conflict never went away. He only took a breath to prepare for this new offensive. And now, with a sit-in as a fixed stage, Sheinbaum will have the teachers literally at his doorstep.
