200,000 Mexican Teachers Continue Corporate Education Reform Protests Clayton Conn - teleSUR
go to original June 9, 2016

Civil Organizations Denounce Police Repression Against CNTE Protest (teleSUR)

Update: Striking Teachers Burn Government Offices in Guerrero State (Latin American Herald Tribune)

Thousands of teachers against corporate education reform ended its multi-city tour and have arrived in Mexico City, marking the third mobilization in a week without government response.

The CNTE union members insist that the reforms are an excuse to justify mass lay-offs, which rose significantly after teachers went to the streets. They argue that teaching evaluation tests do not really measure teaching skills and do not take into account the special knowledge needed to teach in rural areas and Indigenous communities.

Waving banners for free public education and the right to protest, the teachers denounced the increasing privatization and homogenization of education due to the reforms. They were met with roadblocks at several major areas of circulation; a protest on Friday faced 4,000 troops blocking the airport and others have faced severe repression.

"What happens to them and with the reform reflects what the government wants to do with other working class people. We reject this," Hector Becerra, a social activist at the rally, told teleSUR. "We also reject how the strong police presence violates everyone's constitutional right to free assembly, protest and expression."

While the teachers demand to meet with President Enrique Peña Nieto, he refuses to until they drop their rejection of the reform. The teachers refused his conditions.

Read the rest at teleSUR

Multimedia: Tens of Thousands of Teachers Hold 'Mega March' in Mexico City (teleSUR)

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