Oaxaca police work till they’re 90, can’t afford to retire: NGO

October 23, 2019

In Oaxaca, some are getting long in the tooth.

An association that defends the rights of police says that some officers in Oaxaca must work until the age of 85 or 90 because of meager pensions.

Aquiles Cornelio Cruz Ramales, representative of the National Movement for Security and Justice (Monseju), said that many police don’t retire even if they are very old or have health problems because they would receive pensions of less than 5,000 pesos (US $260) a month, even after working for 40 years or more.

In a letter to President López Obrador, Monseju said that police departments in Oaxaca have mistreated their own officers.

The letter also said that some police have even had to keep working after sustaining serious injuries on the job.

Monseju said it plans to work with officers to create a retirement home.

Cruz denied that officers in Oaxaca are planning a strike.

“At no point are we planning a strike, or a protest march, or any action that will affect the citizens, or people who use the services in the capital or the rest of the state,” he said. “But we would like to have a dialogue with people who have decision-making power, and who understand the work of police officers, not army or navy men. That way we could fix many problems that have previously been dealt with arbitrarily.”