The classroom is not just a blackboard and chalk
More than two million teachers support the Mexican educational system. But who supports them? According to the Alcohol Action Network (RASA), the answer is worrying: tons of work stress and a greater risk of falling into alcohol consumption.
The Inegi reports that for the 2024-2025 cycle there were 2 million 62 thousand 615 teachers in the country. And the organization does not mince words: the teaching profession is one of the sectors most exposed to chronic stress. Overload, administrative pressure, working conditions that seem taken from another century.
Numbers that hurt
Scientific evidence cited by RASA shows that between 30% and 50% of university professors report significant levels of stress. And it’s not just tiredness: the National Institute of Public Health (INSP) followed more than 84 thousand teachers since 2006 and found that those who consumed alcohol had a 19% higher risk of developing breast cancer. They adjusted for factors such as family history, hormone therapy, menopause and pregnancy. The data holds.
“Being a primary school teacher has been a very valuable experience: we sow values and knowledge in each childhood. However, not everything is rosy,” says Brenda Hernández Pérez, a primary school teacher in CDMX with nine years of experience.
And he concludes: “The lack of respect from parents and students, the excessive administrative burden outside of working hours and the devaluation of the teaching profession, combined with more demands and the same tools and salary, affect our vocation. In addition to covering our role, we become psychologists, nurses and confidants of our students.”
Alcohol: the escape that kills
The IMSS confirms it: work stress causes anxiety, depression, exhaustion, digestive problems, hypertension, lack of concentration and low productivity. And, of course, the risk of alcohol and other substance consumption increases.
In Mexico, almost half of the population (48.2%) reports current alcohol consumption and 34.9% does so excessively. This translates into liver and cardiovascular diseases, various types of cancer, violence and road accidents. It’s not a joke.
Public policies: they exist, but…
RASA insists that international evidence supports measures such as raising taxes on alcohol, regulating advertising, clear labeling and limiting its availability. But in Mexico, the implementation gaps are enormous.
“Scientific evidence shows that it is not just about individual decisions, but rather a structural problem influenced by the wide availability, social normalization and lack of effective regulation of alcohol,” says Luis Alonso Robledo Carmona, spokesperson for RASA.
And he concludes: “Mexico has more than two million teachers whose mental health is inseparable from educational quality. The public policy tools exist; the challenge is to apply them.”
There is no mystery here: if we want healthy classrooms, we must first take care of those who live in them. But that requires will, not just speeches.
