Teachers Block Mexico Lawmakers from Congress Over Education Reform Agence France-Presse
go to original August 21, 2013

President Enrique Pena Nieto pushed through Congress changes to the constitution in December in order to put education, which was in the hands of powerful unions, back under the control of the government and require teachers to undergo mandatory testing. (Associated Press)

Thousands of teachers blocked access to Mexico's Congress on Wednesday to protest education reform legislation which prompted strikes that have left more than one million students without classes.

Lawmakers were supposed to gather to debate the bills during their summer recess but a congressional spokesman said they were unable to enter the building.

Francisco Bravo, a leader of the CNTE teachers union, said 50,000 educators have descended on the capital from across Mexico to protest the legislation.

"Our demand is for them not to vote the laws, that they suspend the process and that we enter into negotiations that take the teachers' point of view into consideration," Bravo told AFP.

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