The board is moving: the battle for teacher salaries
The cards are on the table. The National Union of Education Workers has just closed the general phase of the National List of Demands for 2026. And they have already warned: they are going for an increase of more than 13%. It’s not a wish, it’s a red line.
Why that number? Because that was the increase in the minimum wage this year. Alfonso Cepeda Salas, the union leader, made it clear in Veracruz during a Section 56 event.
“If the minimum wage was increased by 13%, then that should be the basis for negotiating… The teachers expect at least 13%”
There is the gauntlet thrown down. Cepeda recognized President Claudia Sheinbaum’s “interest” in education, but immediately fired: for the vast majority, the salary does not correspond to their commitment and preparation. It’s the classic “thanks, but it’s not enough.”
The response from the other side of the stage
Claudia Tello Espinosa, Secretary of Education of Veracruz, was at that same meeting. His speech was the official counterpoint: praise for teaching work and a reaffirmation that Sheinbaum’s priority is salaries and housing.
It is the first act of the true drama. The generalities are over—work, professional, social—and now the hard part begins: reviewing the numbers. The SNTE closes ranks with a clear goal, while the government promises priority.
The question that remains floating in the air of the political theater is simple: will the words of support be translated into figures that satisfy the teaching profession? The work is just beginning.
