SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
Denouncing Violent Tactics of 'Political Mafia,' Tens of Thousands March in Mexico City
Protesters marched against the government's violent response to Oaxacan teacher strikes, as well as Peña Nieto's policies of privatization and repression
Jun 27, 2016
Tens of thousands of supporters sent the message "You are not alone " to striking teachers in Oaxaca during a massive demonstration in Mexico City on Sunday.
Protesters marched against the government's violent response to the teacher strikes and other dissension, as well as Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto's neoliberal policies that spurred the educator protests and emboldened a wider backlash against his regime of privatization and repression--fueling many calls for his resignation.
Four thousand police were reportedly deployed across the city Sunday to counter the demonstration.
Sunday's march was called by Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, the former mayor of Mexico City and the leader of the progressive Morena party. Last week, he posted a video to his Facebook page asking people to denounce the controversial education reforms, the "political mafia," and "hypocritical conservatives" in the country.
According to TeleSUR, the former presidential candidate also directly asked the government of Pena Nieto: "Why not choose humanism? Why not search for reconciliation and peace?"
The protest, which came one week after Mexican police opened fire on a roadblock in Oaxaca, marks an escalation in the fight that has rattled southern Mexico for over a year.
Teachers affiliated with the dissident Coordinadora Nacional de Trabajadores de la Educacion (CNTE) union have been protesting new education mandates since last May. Last week, more than 200,000 doctors and other medical staff joined in a 24-hour strike against the government's attempts to privatize the federal social security and health systems. At the same time, students at major universities across the country boycotted classes to show support for the teachers as well as "oppose the ongoing efforts by the government to increase costs of higher education," TeleSUR reports.
With limited reporting, many shared images of the massive demonstration on social media. After the march, Lopez Obrador thanked the thousands who participated, saying: "Thank you for supporting the teachers and the teachers of Mexico. It became evident that they are not alone."
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
Lauren McCauley
Lauren McCauley is a former senior editor for Common Dreams covering national and international politics and progressive news. She is now the Editor of Maine Morning Star. Lauren also helped produce a number of documentary films, including the award-winning Soundtrack for a Revolution and The Hollywood Complex, as well as one currently in production about civil rights icon James Meredith. Her writing has been featured on Newsweek, BillMoyers.com, TruthDig, Truthout, In These Times, and Extra! the newsletter of Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting. She currently lives in Kennebunk, Maine with her husband, two children, a dog, and several chickens.
enrique pena nietohigher educationmexicoteachersprotesterseducationneoliberalismstrikeprivatizationlaborpeople powerandres manuel lopez obrador
Tens of thousands of supporters sent the message "You are not alone " to striking teachers in Oaxaca during a massive demonstration in Mexico City on Sunday.
Protesters marched against the government's violent response to the teacher strikes and other dissension, as well as Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto's neoliberal policies that spurred the educator protests and emboldened a wider backlash against his regime of privatization and repression--fueling many calls for his resignation.
Four thousand police were reportedly deployed across the city Sunday to counter the demonstration.
Sunday's march was called by Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, the former mayor of Mexico City and the leader of the progressive Morena party. Last week, he posted a video to his Facebook page asking people to denounce the controversial education reforms, the "political mafia," and "hypocritical conservatives" in the country.
According to TeleSUR, the former presidential candidate also directly asked the government of Pena Nieto: "Why not choose humanism? Why not search for reconciliation and peace?"
The protest, which came one week after Mexican police opened fire on a roadblock in Oaxaca, marks an escalation in the fight that has rattled southern Mexico for over a year.
Teachers affiliated with the dissident Coordinadora Nacional de Trabajadores de la Educacion (CNTE) union have been protesting new education mandates since last May. Last week, more than 200,000 doctors and other medical staff joined in a 24-hour strike against the government's attempts to privatize the federal social security and health systems. At the same time, students at major universities across the country boycotted classes to show support for the teachers as well as "oppose the ongoing efforts by the government to increase costs of higher education," TeleSUR reports.
With limited reporting, many shared images of the massive demonstration on social media. After the march, Lopez Obrador thanked the thousands who participated, saying: "Thank you for supporting the teachers and the teachers of Mexico. It became evident that they are not alone."
Lauren McCauley
Lauren McCauley is a former senior editor for Common Dreams covering national and international politics and progressive news. She is now the Editor of Maine Morning Star. Lauren also helped produce a number of documentary films, including the award-winning Soundtrack for a Revolution and The Hollywood Complex, as well as one currently in production about civil rights icon James Meredith. Her writing has been featured on Newsweek, BillMoyers.com, TruthDig, Truthout, In These Times, and Extra! the newsletter of Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting. She currently lives in Kennebunk, Maine with her husband, two children, a dog, and several chickens.
Tens of thousands of supporters sent the message "You are not alone " to striking teachers in Oaxaca during a massive demonstration in Mexico City on Sunday.
Protesters marched against the government's violent response to the teacher strikes and other dissension, as well as Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto's neoliberal policies that spurred the educator protests and emboldened a wider backlash against his regime of privatization and repression--fueling many calls for his resignation.
Four thousand police were reportedly deployed across the city Sunday to counter the demonstration.
Sunday's march was called by Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, the former mayor of Mexico City and the leader of the progressive Morena party. Last week, he posted a video to his Facebook page asking people to denounce the controversial education reforms, the "political mafia," and "hypocritical conservatives" in the country.
According to TeleSUR, the former presidential candidate also directly asked the government of Pena Nieto: "Why not choose humanism? Why not search for reconciliation and peace?"
The protest, which came one week after Mexican police opened fire on a roadblock in Oaxaca, marks an escalation in the fight that has rattled southern Mexico for over a year.
Teachers affiliated with the dissident Coordinadora Nacional de Trabajadores de la Educacion (CNTE) union have been protesting new education mandates since last May. Last week, more than 200,000 doctors and other medical staff joined in a 24-hour strike against the government's attempts to privatize the federal social security and health systems. At the same time, students at major universities across the country boycotted classes to show support for the teachers as well as "oppose the ongoing efforts by the government to increase costs of higher education," TeleSUR reports.
With limited reporting, many shared images of the massive demonstration on social media. After the march, Lopez Obrador thanked the thousands who participated, saying: "Thank you for supporting the teachers and the teachers of Mexico. It became evident that they are not alone."
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.