Teachers from the National Coordinator of Education Workers (CNTE), who demonstrated this Thursday at the doors of the country’s Upper House, threatened to boycott the soccer World Cup that will be held next year in Mexico, together with the United States and Canada, if they do not reach a labor agreement with the Government.
Shouting “If there is no solution, there will be no world cup!”, the teachers demanded from the Mexican president, Claudia Sheinbaum, the immediate repeal of the Law of the Institute of Security and Social Services of State Workers (ISSSTE) of 2007 and the educational reform of 2019.
If that does not happen, they threatened to “steal the ball” in the 2026 World Cup, in which Mexico will be one of the hosts and will host a total of thirteen matches spread across its three venues: Mexico City, Guadalajara and Monterrey.
Before protesting in front of the federal Congress, the protesters tried to surround the National Palace, in the historic center of the Mexican capital, where the president offers her morning press conferences and which is also her residence.
More context: Sheinbaum claims ‘not understanding’ the demonstrations by CNTE teachers
Precisely, at this Thursday’s conference, Sheinbaum stated that “they do not understand” these protests by teachers, and asked: “How if there is an open dialogue table and work is being done in Oaxaca, Chiapas, Guerrero and other states, do they want to use violence to reach the National Palace?”
In addition, he stressed that “they are going to discuss among the teachers school by school to see what they want for their teaching career evaluation.”
The CNTE announced mobilizations in various parts of the country and a large march in Mexico City, so hundreds of teachers began to mobilize in the country’s capital.
Last May, the Mexican government announced a series of labor improvements, such as a 9% increase in the teachers’ union salary and more vacation days, after demonstrations and blockades throughout the country for almost a month.
With information from EFE.
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