Teachers belonging to sections 34 and 58 of the National Union of Education Workers (SNTE) intensified their protests this Friday by blocking federal highways and occupying toll booths in various parts of the state of Zacatecas.
These actions mark nine days of mobilization against the 2007 ISSSTE law, which was joined yesterday by state-level demands, such as the modification of the pension system administered by ISSSTEZAC and integration into Infonavit, keeping all elementary schools in the state on strike.
In addition to the traffic chaos caused by intermittent closures of federal highways:
Route 49 Zacatecas-Torreón (Río Grande-General Francisco R. Murguía Junction, formerly Nieves)
Route 54 Guadalajara-Zacatecas (Jalpa and Apozol)
Route 49 San Luis Potosí-Zacatecas (Saldaña)
Route 23 Zacatecas-Tlaltenango-Guadalajara (Tepechitlán)
Route 45 Aguascalientes-Zacatecas (Ojocaliente-Luis Moya)
Zacatecas-Durango (El Jorobado Bridge, Fresnillo, and San Blas)
“The entire deployment of actions in Zacatecas and other states is to exert pressure around the meeting of the National Coordinator of Education Workers (CNTE) with President Claudia Sheinbaum,” stated Armando Montoya Santoyo, organizational secretary of Section 34 of the SNTE in Fresnillo.
He reported that between 400 and 500 teachers participated in the blockade on Highway 45 in Fresnillo alone, and in the takeover of the Morfín Chávez toll booth in the same municipality.
The teachers’ blockades are being held to protest the reform that affects their benefits.
Also, at other toll booths located in Calera and Vetagrande, teachers allowed motorists to pass freely.
The roadblocks were intermittent, allowing free traffic for 30-minute periods.
Student Impact
Across the state, just over 300,000 elementary school students are out of school, according to data from the Zacatecas Education Secretariat (Seduzac).
Of the total, 224,000 students attend nearly 5,000 federal schools where members of Section 34 of the SNTE (National Education System), whose activities have been paralyzed since May 15, work.
In addition, the occupation of the offices of the State Education Secretariat has continued since Monday.
According to the leader of said section, Filiberto Frausto, the objective is to achieve the repeal of the 2007 ISSSTE law, to return to a solidarity-based pension system and eliminate individual savings from the Afores (Association of Social Security Workers).
Subsequently, the Section 58 strike affected an additional 87,000 students at state schools. Marcelino Rodarte, general secretary of Section 58, said he is seeking the repeal of the reform to the ISSSTEZAC law enacted in 2024.
Yesterday, Thursday, he held a protest at the State Legislature and established a working group with local representatives. They not only requested changes to the pension law but also demanded resources to allow state teachers to access Infonavit benefits.
Source: oem
