Students clash with police after attempting to block Michoacán highway

Protesting student teachers from a rural training college in Michoacán clashed with state police officers on Monday.

The students tried to stop trucks and buses on the Siglo 21 highway near Tiripetío, 25 kilometers southwest of Morelia, in order to block traffic.

When state police arrived, the protesters fired rockets and threw stones at them.

In response, the officers fired tear gas at the students, who fled to their nearby school.

In a video published by the news website La Silla Rota, some 100 protesters are seen on both sides of the highway with a large cloud of gas spreading across it.

The Public Security Ministry said that there were no injuries.

The students were demanding that jobs be automatically awarded to teachers who have completed their training, without fulfilling the legally required accreditation process. It is a perennial demand by students and the dissident CNTE teachers union.

Blockades are a common tactic for dissatisfied teachers and teachers-to-be in Michoacán and other states: members of the CNTE blocked tracks for 91 days last year, costing businesses an estimated 50 million pesos per day (US $2.5 million at the exchange rate at the time).

With reports from Milenio and La Silla Rota

Have something to say? Paid Subscribers get all access to make & read comments.

Mexico’s week in review: A surprise rate cut, a sliding peso and an oil spill that’s becoming a political problem

1
The week of March 23–27 in Mexico delivered economic and political friction that touched on everything from the cost of borrowing to the cost of governing.

Xcaret theme park banned from using Maya culture for marketing, for now.

4
The ruling will stay in effect only until the Supreme Court makes a final decision on what could be a landmark case for Mexico's cultural future

FIFA president Infantino attends Guadalajara qualifier, signaling confidence in Mexico as World Cup host

1
The World Cup qualifiers marked Guadalajara's first major sporting event since El Mencho's death. All went off without a hitch as Jamaica beat New Caledonia before a packed Akron Stadium.
BETA Version - Powered by Perplexity