Commentary: Oaxaca Teachers Strike Is About Defending the Revolutionary Educational Tradition John Ackerman - The Real News
go to original June 24, 2016

On one side we had federal police, masked gunmen with high-caliber weapons, at the service of a government which now has a long track record of assassinating, eliminating its adversaries in various parts of the country. On the other hand, we have teachers, armed with pencils and notebooks, defending their jobs, defending their freedom of speech, and high-quality education.

The Mexican government now has a few years, ever since, particularly, Enrique Pena Nieto came to power on December 1, 2012, we've had every few months massacres committed by state government forces. The most obvious case internationally known is the disappearance of 43 students and the assassination of another 3 on the night of September 26, 2014 in Iguala, Guerrero. Students from the Ayotzinapa teachers' college. But before that we had the Tlatlaya massacre. After that, Apatzingan.

The Mexican security forces are out of control. There is no limitation of force, and there is a systematic abuse of human rights. This last Sunday we had a protest of teachers, supported by community members. They were blocking a highway, a very typical form of protest, against the education reform. The education reform is not really an education reform. It's a labor reform designed to push out the most critical participative teachers. It's designed to purge the long history of democratic unionism and critical, even revolutionary, education, which Mexico's had for the last hundred years.

It's in Oaxaca in particular, the Section 22 of the teachers' union, in which these traditions are the strongest. These teachers are embedded in their communities. These are mostly indigenous communities, which are also simultaneously struggling to defend their territory against mining. They're trying to defend the environment. Trying to defend their culture and their history.

Read the rest of the transcript at The Real News

Related: Mexico Spends Millions to Promote Neoliberal Education Reform (teleSUR)

Related: Teacher Killings Ignite Calls for Revolution in Mexico (Common Dreams)

Related: The Tragedy in Oaxaca Really Puts America’s Squabbles Over Education Reform in Perspective (Slate)

Related: In the Wake of Deadly Clashes, AFL-CIO Stands with Mexican Teachers Union (AFL-CIO)

Related: Napa Community Shows Support for Oaxaca Teachers, Activists (Napa Valley Register)

Related: Houstonians Protest Violence in Oaxaca During Rally (KHOU)

Related: Protesters in San Bernardino Demand Changes in Mexico (The Sun)

Related: 2nd Day of Protests Outside NYC Mexico Consulate Over Oaxaca Killings (Mo4ch News)

Related: Striking Mexico Teachers Meet with Government, No Agreement (Telesur)

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