200 thousand teachers on strike: because what better way to celebrate their day than not working
Ah, the CNTE. That group of teachers who, like a broken clock, always marks the time of the strike. This time, some 200 thousand teachers (yes, you read that right: two hundred thousand) will leave the classrooms on May 15 because, of course, what better way to commemorate Teacher’s Day than by not teaching? The SNTE, that union that seems more like a spectator than an actor, limited itself to saying: “We can’t do anything, but be careful, it’s not a national strike.”. Of course, because if they only paralyze Guerrero, Michoacán, CDMX and Oaxaca, it’s just a regional strike… or something like that.
“It is not a national strike, it is just a dress rehearsal”
Alfonso Cepeda, the leader of the SNTE (and a Morenoist senator, because in Mexico unions and politics are like dirt), dropped this gem: “The CNTE represents only 8% of teachers, so this does not count”. What a consolation for parents who will have to improvise daycare at work. But don’t worry, according to Cepeda, “they can stop in Oaxaca, half in Chiapas, 20% in Guerrero…”. Translation? “It’s not my problem, I’m at the negotiating table asking for my salary increase.”.
And speaking of raises: the government, in an act of generosity worthy of a fairy tale, gave them 11.09% last year. What will they do with so much money? Maybe buy more banners for the next strike. Meanwhile, the CNTE continues with its infallible tactic: “mobilization-negotiation, mobilization-negotiation”. A cycle as predictable as that of soap operas, but with more blocks and fewer kisses.
Moral: If your children don’t learn math, you know who to blame (or who not to, because their teachers will be in a sit-in).
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