Riot police on Monday blocked protesting Oaxacan teachers from entering Mexico City’s main square, the Zócalo, where a FIFA World Cup Fan Festival site is being prepared. The clash signals tense weeks ahead, as more teachers prepare to join protests in the capital.
Teachers affiliated with the Oaxaca-based Section 22 of the CNTE teachers union tried to reach the square to set up a protest camp but were unable to get past riot police. They said that the police used tear gas to repel them and claimed that they were pushed and hit by officers.
Fuerzas de seguridad usan extintores para dispersar a la CNTE en el Centro Histórico
La policía frena el avance sobre 5 de Mayo rumbo a la plancha del Zócalo capitalinopic.twitter.com/9ubEiFIZpT
— Manuel Lopez San Martin (@MLopezSanMartin) May 25, 2026
The Ministry of Public Education (SEP) and the Ministry of the Interior (SEGOB) said in a joint statement on Tuesday that Section 22 CNTE representatives had been advised that it was too dangerous for them to gather in the Zócalo due to the work taking place there.
More teachers affiliated with the CNTE — a union known for combative tactics — are expected to arrive in Mexico City in coming days to join a large protest on June 1 that may coincide with the commencement of a national strike. The teachers are not happy with an offer of a 9% pay increase and are calling for the repeal of the 2019 education reform as well as the 2007 ISSSTE (State Workers’ Social Security Institute) Law, which changed their pension system and will leave them — they say — considerably worse off in retirement.
Teachers continued to protest on Tuesday, reportedly blocking access to a section of Paseo de la Reforma, a busy road that runs into Mexico City’s historic center.
‘They repressed us, they hit us, they pushed us’
Section 22 teachers marched from the Angel of Independence monument on Paseo de la Reforma to the historic center of Mexico City on Monday morning. When they got to Cinco de Mayo Avenue, a Mexico City government deputy minister, Juan José García Ochoa, reportedly told them that they couldn’t enter the Zócalo due to the work taking place to prepare the site as a FIFA Fan Festival, where World Cup matches will be shown live on large screens. “The official argued that it was an issue of civil protection,” the La Jornada newspaper reported.
Nevertheless, some teachers — including a group of CNTE members traveling in a vehicle — attempted to enter the large central square. Clashes with police ensued, during which helmet-wearing, shield-carrying officers appeared to use gas to drive the protesters back.
“They repressed us, they hit us, they pushed us,” Francisca Pérez, a teacher from Oaxaca, told the EFE news agency.
While teachers have set up camps in streets near the Zócalo, Pérez said they will try to reach the square again.
She noted that President Claudia Sheinbaum, before she took office, pledged to repeal the 2007 ISSSTE law. However, that has not happened. As president, Sheinbaum has said there are insufficient resources to return to the previous pension system.
Pérez complained that foreign music groups, such as Korean boy band BTS, have been welcomed to the National Palace by Sheinbaum. However, teachers have been ignored by authorities, she said, although federal officials were scheduled to meet with CNTE representatives on Tuesday.
🔴Maestros de la #CNTE mantienen el bloqueo en El Caballito y Segob hasta que termine la reunión funcionarios de la dependencia.
Lizbeth Hernández vía @Radio_Formula. pic.twitter.com/kgyC2BKtXf
— Azucena Uresti (@azucenau) May 26, 2026
Public Education Ministry and Interior Ministry respond
In their statement, SEP and SEGOB said that they have been speaking to Section 22 CNTE representatives since last weekend in order to “guarantee conditions of safety, attention in cases of emergency and the protection of their colleagues” during protests in Mexico City, which are set to continue in coming days.
The two ministries also said that Mexico City government officials “carried out an inspection” of the Zócalo with Section 22 CNTE representatives so the union personnel could “verify” that screens and “metallic structures” were being installed ahead of the start of the World Cup on June 11.
They said that on the recommendation of Civil Protection authorities, the union representatives were told that carrying out activities with large groups of people in the Zócalo would create a “situation of risk.”
Consequently, “various alternative places” of protest were suggested to them, SEP and SEGOB said.
The two ministries also said that a meeting between federal officials and CNTE representatives would take place at the Interior Ministry at midday Tuesday in order to “continue the construction of agreements through a respectful and direct exchange.” They said that Interior Minister Rosa Icela Rodríguez, Education Minister Mario Delgado and ISSSTE chief Martí Batres would participate in the meeting.
“The Mexican government reiterates that institutional channels remain open to address … [teachers’] concerns, always within a framework of respect, legality, and the pursuit of consensus,” SEP and SEGOB said.
“Finally, we call for a focus on non-confrontation, dialogue, and institutional channels as mechanisms for making progress in addressing the demands of the national teaching community, for the benefit of the educational community and society as a whole.”
With reports from EFE and La Jornada
