CNTE claims there is a contradiction between Sheinbaum's anti-neoliberal rhetoric and her actual economic policy.

MEXICO CITY (apro) .- The National Coordination of Education Workers (CNTE) called out the government of Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo for the “serious contradiction” between her “anti-neoliberal” discourse and her “real economic policy,” which endorses the implementation of pensions through individual accounts – managed by the AFORE (annually-funded pension funds) – arguing that “the State lacks the resources to finance a solidarity-based retirement and pension system.”

In a "political position" released last night, following the heated exchange at the Ministry of the Interior (Segob), the dissident teachers' union emphasized that the federal government's response to their demands has been "insufficient and null," and accompanied by an "intense media campaign of denigration, as in previous regimes."

The CNTE "categorically" rejected the rhetoric associating it with the far right, a direct message to its interlocutors in the federal government and some sectors of Morena. It added that its mobilization—with a sit-in in the capital's Zócalo and roadblocks in the capital—is "a product of the government's intransigence and deaf ears" and demonstrates that "in this country, if you don't take to the streets, the problems won't be made visible, regardless of the acronym of the party in power."

In their statement, the CNTE teachers recalled that former President Andrés Manuel López Obrador had promised them that he would repeal the ISSSTE law enacted during the administration of former President Felipe Calderón, and that Sheinbaum reiterated this promise during her campaign.

"The previous government's argument for not doing so was that they didn't have a qualified majority in Congress; now the argument is that there's no money," they emphasized, denouncing the fact that eight out of ten teachers remain under the AFORES system, which "in effect means eliminating the right to retirement."

They also denied claims that an entry-level teacher earns 18,000 pesos, emphasizing that the salary is 1.59 times the minimum wage. They asserted that the salary increase granted by the government "is less than half of last year's increase" and does not compensate for "the purchasing power lost each year."

The CNTE insisted that their demands remain unchallenged: the repeal of the 2007 ISSSTE law, the repeal of the "Peña-AMLO education reform," a 100% salary increase, a date to establish a dialogue table with Sheinbaum, and "an end to economic repression" against union members participating in the national strike.