Teachers from Oaxaca are protesting in Mexico City to demand the creation of 13,000 jobs in the state and the automatic appointment of teaching graduates to the positions.

The leader of Section 22 of the CNTE teachers’ union said that protesters want the General Professional Teaching Service Law – part of the 2013 education reform – to be cancelled so that positions can be allocated to graduates of Oaxaca’s teacher training colleges in accordance with bilateral agreements between teachers and the Secretariat of Public Education (SEP).

Eloy López Hernández said the teachers also want promotions to be given in accordance with the scale system as set out in Article 123 of the Mexican constitution.

In addition, teachers want the concept of bicultural education to be changed to multicultural education so that the curriculum is inclusive of all of the different indigenous groups in Oaxaca and across Mexico.

To pressure the legislative branch of government, members of the dissident union yesterday began a 72-hour protest in front of the lower house of Congress.

Teachers also marched through the streets of the capital to the Venezuelan embassy to show their support for President Nicolás Maduro, who is currently under intense international pressure to step down.

Despite the presence of teachers in Mexico City, education authorities in Oaxaca said that classes proceeded as normal in 90% of schools yesterday.

CNTE leaders had called on all teachers in the state to stop work on February 25, 26 and 27 to travel to Mexico City to protest.

But only around 800 Oaxacan teachers – a small minority of the state’s educators – are currently camped out in front of the San Lázaro Legislative Palace.

Source: El Universal (sp), Reforma (sp)