President López Obrador announced an 8.2% salary increase for Mexico’s public K-12 teachers during his morning press conference on Monday.
The increase will apply retroactively from January of this year and will result in a budget increase of 42 billion pesos “for the strengthening of public education in our country. It is not an expense but an investment,” the president said during the press conference, held on Mexico’s Teacher’s Day.
“From now on, no teacher will earn less than 16,000 pesos [US $909] per month.”
“There are 22 million workers enrolled in social security, and the average salary is 16,000 pesos. So how is it possible for teachers to earn less than that?”
President López Obrador credited Mexico’s economic growth for making the increase possible.
“Now that the economy is growing,” the government is “improving salaries,” he said.
The president also noted that medical services for teachers, as well as other state workers, will be improved and that pensions will be increased “to correct the setback that was imposed during the neoliberal period.”
“This was a major grievance,” President López Obrador explained. “Before the neoliberal period, the pension system gave the teacher a full salary when they retired. Now, they retire and receive only 40% of their salary.”
He pointed out that during former opposition governments, teachers protested and filed judicial appeals but were unable to change the state of their pay or pensions.
According to Mexico’s Institute of National Statistics and Geography, there were just over 2.17 million teachers across the 255,535 SEP-affiliated schools as of last year.
Mexico’s two most powerful teachers unions, the National Union of Education Workers and the National Coordination of Education Workers, have engaged in demonstrations across the country to demand improved pensions and salaries.
With reports from Proceso and MVS Noticias
