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RR RUEHCD RUEHGA RUEHGD RUEHHA RUEHHM RUEHHO RUEHJO RUEHMC RUEHNG
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DE RUEHME #0931/01 0931543
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 021543Z APR 08
FM AMEMBASSY MEXICO
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 1139
RUEHC/DEPT OF LABOR WASHINGTON DC
INFO RUCNCAN/ALL CANADIAN POSTS COLLECTIVE
RUEHXC/ALL US CONSULATES IN MEXICO COLLECTIVE
RUEHXI/LABOR COLLECTIVE
RHMFIUU/CDR USSOUTHCOM MIAMI FL
RUEAHLA/DEPT OF HOMELAND SECURITY
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHINGTON DC

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 MEXICO 000931 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR DRL/AWH AND ILCSR, WHA/MEX, USDOL ILAB 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ELAB ECON PGOV SOCI PINR MX
SUBJECT: OAXACA TEACHERS PROTEST OVER DELAYED UNION 
ELECTIONS 
 
REF: (A) 06 MEXICO 6128 (B) 06 MEXICO 5982 
 
 
¶1.  (U) Summary: The dispute between Section (Local) 22 of 
the National Teachers Union (SNTE) and the state government 
of Oaxaca that began in mid-2006 as a labor action and grew 
into a political crisis has been relatively quiet of late. 
The quarrel between the teachers and the Oaxaca government 
has not gone away, but for much of 2007 the ongoing dispute 
commanded relatively little national attention.  All of this 
changed briefly in early March when Section 22 launched an 
11-day sit-in/protest in Mexico City that broke out in 
violence between the teachers and federal police.  At the 
beginning of the protest the teachers announced a laundry 
list of demands that contained numerous non-starters. 
However, the main reason for the protest was to pressure the 
GOM into forcing the SNTE at the national level into formally 
authorizing new union elections.  The current leadership of 
Section 22 was elected to a four-year term that took office 
and was recognized by the GOM in March 2004.  SNTE,s statues 
dictate that new union elections require the authorization of 
the national organization as a precondition of legal 
recognition.  Without new elections Section 22,s leadership 
could lose the legal foundation which compels both the Oaxaca 
state and federal authorities to negotiate with them. 
Section 22,s appeals for the authorization to hold new 
elections have been ignored by the SNTE,s national office, 
quite possibly with the full concurrence of the GOM.   End 
Summary. 
 
 
BACKGROUND 
---------- 
 
¶2. (U) In March/April of 2006 the 70,000 teachers of Section 
(Local) 22 of the National Teachers, Union (SNTE) in the 
southeastern Mexican state of Oaxaca began a work stoppage 
demanding higher wages. Initially the teachers, requests for 
wage increases were neglected by Oaxaca,s Institutional 
Revolutionary Party (PRI) governor, Ulises Ruiz, who claimed 
the state did not have the funds to meet their demands.  The 
situation then took a turn for worse in early June 2006 when 
the Governor ordered the use of force (including the firing 
of tear gas from helicopters) to dislodge the teachers and 
their supporters from the city center. 
 
¶3.  (U) Governor Ruiz,s use of force provoked a show of 
solidarity from a number of civil society groups who 
responded by joining the teachers on the barricades. Over 
time the protesters intermittently blocked highways into 
Oaxaca as well as access to the airport, in addition to key 
public buildings and the situation deteriorated from there 
causing considerable economic disruption throughout the 
state. Ultimately the combination of striking teachers and 
civil society groups, which organized under the umbrella of 
the Oaxaca People,s Popular Assembly (APPO), came together 
to demand the ouster of Ulises Ruiz.  Throughout the latter 
part of 2006 and the early part of 2007 the protestors 
maintained ongoing demonstrations in Oaxaca and in Mexico 
City.  Remarkably, during the entire height of crisis in 
Oaxaca the state government continued to pay the teachers, 
salaries until the very last week of September 2006. 
 
¶4.  (U) The teachers of Section 22 are viewed as dissidents 
within the SNTE, and for an extended period all attempts by 
both the state and federal governments to resolve the Oaxaca 
crisis have failed. When the crisis was at its worst there 
was widespread concern and general dismay throughout Mexico 
that the Oaxaca situation would (and in fact ultimately did) 
require the use of force to restore the rule of law.  The 
strike, with its accompanying violent protests and actions by 
unidentified gunmen linked to APPO and the governor, was 
blamed for at least nine deaths, including that of U.S. 
journalist Brad Will. The timing of this crisis coincided 
with the change of administration here in Mexico and was 
handed off from the President Vicente Fox to the now 
President, Felipe Calderon.  The Oaxaca situation was the 
first major labor challenge of Calderon,s administration. 
Prior to leaving office President Fox ordered federal police 
and the military into Oaxaca to restore order.  President 
Calderon then established a Congressional Commission to 
resolve the issues between the Oaxaca government and the 
protesting teachers and their supporters. 
 
MEXICO 00000931  002 OF 004 
 
 
 
 
OAXACA TEACHERS REAPPEAR ON THE NATIONAL SCENE 
------------------------------------------- 
 
¶5. (U) On March 3, following a considerable period of 
relative calm, some 10,000 Section 22 teachers, plus an 
estimated 5,000 APPO activists and other supporters, arrived 
in Mexico City from Oaxaca to present a list of demands to 
the GOM.  This protest was the first time since early 2007 
that the ongoing dispute in Oaxaca drew significant coverage 
from the national media.  The teachers launched a protest 
march that began on Reforma Avenue, the main street in front 
of Embassy Mexico City, and ended at the offices of the 
Secretary of Government (Interior Ministry). In addition to 
 
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holding a protest march, the teacher ultimately set up camp 
and staged an 11-day sit-in near the Secretary of 
Government,s offices. 
 
¶6.  (U) A rally occurring on Reforma Avenue is nothing new in 
Mexico City.  The street is the traditional starting place of 
protest marches and demonstrations in the Mexican capital; in 
fact it is a rare week indeed when there is not some form of 
demonstration on Reforma.  A march by the teachers of Section 
22, even one involving some 15,000 demonstrators, would not, 
in and of itself, draw much attention from the national 
media.  What made this particular march/labor action 
noteworthy was the fact that upon arriving at their intended 
destination the protestors clashed with various elements of 
Mexico,s federal police.  The clash did not result in any 
serious injuries nor in a significant number of detentions or 
arrests but it did go on (actually off and on) for a few 
hours during which time the protestor repeatedly stormed the 
chain link fence specifically installed to keep them from 
reaching the offices of the Secretary of Government. 
 
 
THE TEACHERS, DEMANDS 
--------------------- 
 
¶7.  (U) In the lead up to the demonstration, a spokesman who 
was also one of the protest,s main organizers formally 
announced the teachers, list of demands.  In some regards 
the demands resembled something of a laundry list contained 
numerous non-starters. Some of the demands, such as a call 
for the release of political prisoners, were not realistic in 
that there was little chance the GOM would release 
individuals detained and charged with a crime without first 
allowing the normal processes of the judicial system to run 
their course. 
 
¶8.  (U) Some of the teachers, other demands included such 
things as a call for the Mexican Congress to reject the 
GOM,s proposals for energy and labor reform (neither of 
which have yet been formally submitted to the Congress).  The 
teachers called for the repeal of the law &ISSTE8, a 
controversial reform of the laws governing the administration 
of pensions for civil service employees (i.e. teachers and 
other federal employees).  This law is currently being 
challenged in the courts so again it was unrealistic to 
expect any serious response to this demand.  The list of 
demands also included a call for the resignation of Oaxaca,s 
governor Ulises Ruiz; an option considered and rejected by a 
Congressional Commission in early 2007 as one of the possible 
alternatives for solving the political crisis mention above 
in paragraphs 2-4. 
 
¶9.  (U) The only really urgent and serious demand on the 
teacher,s laundry list was a call for the GOM to compel the 
SNTE,s national office to formally authorize new union 
elections. The demand to hold new union elections was the 
real reason behind the protest held by the Section 22 
teachers and their supporters.  Holding new union elections 
is an essential act for Section 22.  Without new elections to 
establish the legally recognized leadership of Section 22 the 
legitimacy of any future actions by the union could become 
null and void. 
 
 
AN URGENT NEED FOR NEW UNION ELECTIONS 
-------------------------------------- 
 
¶10.  (U) According to the SNTE statues, no Section (Local) 
 
MEXICO 00000931  003 OF 004 
 
 
can have hold union leadership elections without the prior 
authorization of the organization,s national office.  Under 
Mexico,s Federal Labor Law, all unions must have on file 
with the Secretariat of Labor (STPS) a copy of their statues. 
 These statues serve as the basis for granting a union 
official GOM registration and serve as the standards to which 
unions must adhere or risk loss of government recognition. 
In the case of SNTE affiliate Sections, statues dictate that 
union elections must have prior authorization by the 
organization,s national office in order to be legally 
recognized by the Mexican government,s STPS. Without such 
recognition neither federal nor state authorities are 
required to respect the labor rights of a union nor accord 
any type of benefits to that organization,s members.  For 
the leadership of Section 22, the question of new and legally 
recognized elections could be the key to that Local,s very 
existence. 
 
¶11.  (U) The current leadership of Section 22 was elected and 
began a four year term of office in March of 2004.  Now, four 
years later, that leadership,s mandate is now up and without 
new elections the legality of any future labor action by 
Section 22 or its leadership would be null and void.  Prior 
to launching its March 3 protest demonstration, Section 22 
had petitioned the SNTE,s national office for authorization 
to hold elections on eight separate occasions.  No response 
to these petitions was ever received and this despite the 
fact that at least 20 other state level Sections have 
received the necessary authorizations and held leadership 
elections. 
 
¶12.  (U) Now that their legal term of office as union 
officials has come to an end the leadership of Section 22 is 
justifiably concerned with what will happened next.  The 
Oaxaca teacher,s dispute with the state,s governor is still 
ongoing and up until now many of the actions (short of 
violence) the union has taken in its quarrel with Governor 
Ruiz could be arguably defended as the exercise of worker 
rights under Mexico,s Federal Labor Law.  With new elections 
any future labor actions by the Section 22 would have no 
legal basis and the state authorities in Oaxaca could move 
against the teachers at will. 
 
 
THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT,S RESPONSE 
--------------------------------- 
 
¶13.  (U) As noted above the teachers of Section 22 are 
dissidents within the SNTE and it is not surprising that the 
national union is using the organization,s statues to rid 
themselves of people they perceive as trouble makers.  In 
order to maintain the legal status to defend their labor 
rights (as they see them) Section 22 appealed to the GOM,s 
Secretary of Government to intercede on its behalf with 
 
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national office of the SNTE and compel that office to issue 
the necessary authorization.  The GOM response to Section 
22,s appeal for help was to cite the relevant portions of 
Federal Labor Law (FLL) governing union autonomy. 
 
¶14.  (U) Mexico,s FLL prevents the federal government from 
interfering in the internal affairs of the country,s labor 
unions and in this case the Secretary of Government claimed 
it had no legal authority to compel SNTE in this matter. 
Faced with a national union leadership they believed 
(probably correctly) that was determined to get rid of them 
and a GOM response that seemed indifferent to their situation 
the members of Section 22 and their supporters decided to 
march on the office of the Secretary of Government to protest 
their plight. 
 
 
COMMENT 
------- 
 
¶14.  (U) The members of Section 22 and their leadership are 
truly between a rock and hard place.  As of March 31, 2008 
Section 22 will be without any legal basis to function as a 
recognized union.  There appears to be no valid reason for 
the SNTE national office to deny Section 22,s request to 
hold new election other than a desire to rid themselves of a 
group that, in their view, has caused them endless trouble 
for at least two years.  Technically speaking the GOM,s 
Secretary of Government is correct when it says it has no 
 
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MEXICO 00000931  004 OF 004 
 
 
legal authority to compel the SNTE national office in this 
matter but it could at least offer its good offices to help 
negotiate the matter.  Alas, everyone in the Oaxaca drama 
appears to be playing hardball politics and no one seems 
particularly concerned for the education of the state,s 
children.  The march on the GOM,s Secretary of Government 
involved only 10,000 of the estimated 70,000 teachers and 
education workers who make up Section 22.  Nevertheless the 
other members of the Local stayed off the job in solidarity 
with the protestors who came to Mexico City.  This was just 
the latest instances of when the interests of the school 
children of Oaxaca are being neglected by all the parties 
involved in his years old dispute. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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