Although not the entire education system was paralyzed simultaneously, the impact was sustained and prolonged. During the 2024-2025 school year, teacher strikes in South California led to the suspension of classes for between four and up to 80 days in various elementary schools, depending on the level of participation in the protests.
The mobilizations were staggered between March and June, accumulating a period of up to 12 weeks with partial disruptions to the school calendar.
As a result, at least 50,000 students were directly affected by these disruptions, according to estimates by the state Ministry of Public Education (SEP). At its peak, the movement paralyzed activities in up to 160 schools, equivalent to 18 to 23% of public schools in the state.
A Protracted Conflict: Chronology of the Strikes
The first teacher strike of the 2024-2025 school year took place on March 12 and 13, in rejection of the proposed reform of the ISSSTE pension system. The protest included demonstrations at the Government Palace in La Paz and the suspension of classes at schools in La Paz, Los Cabos, and some in Comondú. Although initially driven by dissident groups, it soon spread with the support of more dissatisfied teachers.
The next strike took place on Wednesday, March 26, and was repeated on Friday, March 28, as a means of exerting pressure in the face of the lack of response from the authorities. From that date on, an indefinite strike began at specific schools, primarily in urban areas of La Paz and Los Cabos, but also with a presence in Mulegé, Comondú, and Loreto. The indefinite strike continued until mid-June, affecting the end of the school year at dozens of schools.
In addition to these dates, isolated days of suspensions were reported in May in schools that had not previously participated, with activities such as 24-hour strikes, marches, and union rallies. Even on June 5, teacher groups held simultaneous demonstrations in La Paz and San José del Cabo, suspending classes for another day.
On June 29, in Los Cabos, 2,500 preschool, general, and technical secondary school teachers marched along a key road toward the Cabo San Lucas preschool, elementary, and secondary school district.
The experience of parents during the 2024-2025 school year was as diverse as the impact of the work stoppages in Baja California Sur. According to interviews conducted in different municipalities, the testimonies confirm on a small scale what official figures already reflect: at least a third of elementary school students saw their classes partially or completely interrupted during the months of March through June as a result of the teacher conflict.
A mother reported that her daughter was out of school for almost 60 days because the school she attends in La Paz joined the indefinite strike that began at the end of March. “It was difficult to organize ourselves. Sometimes I had to leave her home alone because I didn’t always have someone to leave her with,” she commented.
She also noted that the academic impact was evident: the school year seemed uneven and lacked depth, which she considers a significant disadvantage for her daughter. When questioned about the recovery programs announced by the state SEP, such as tutoring or extra classes, she asserted that her school had not implemented any concrete measures to make up for what was lost.
In contrast, a parent shared that in his case the impact was minimal: his son missed one or two days of school due to the protests, but without significant consequences for his learning. “There wasn’t much change; it actually happened quickly,” he expressed.
However, he agreed with other parents that managing childcare during the suspension was a challenge. Some chose to bring their children to work, while others, with older children, left them at home under remote supervision, causing constant anxiety and worry.
A platform host shared a more critical experience. Her son was out of in-person classes for almost a month and a half. In her opinion, this period caused a serious delay in his academic development, especially in key subjects such as math and reading comprehension.
“I’m afraid this will drag him down through the following grades and he’ll end up leaving elementary school with a low level,” she confessed. To mitigate the consequences, she has opted to hold nighttime study sessions at home, trying to reinforce the topics that weren’t covered at school because of the strike.
Not all experiences were negative. One mother emphasized that classes at her school were only suspended for one day, with no major changes to the school calendar. She acknowledged the commitment of the teachers at that school, who—according to her testimony—looked for alternatives to ensure students weren’t left without academic attention and maintained the rhythm of the school year.
The president of the State Parents’ Association, Óscar Montaño, acknowledged that the school year that is concluding had complications stemming from teacher strikes, although he assured that the impacts were neither widespread nor prolonged in most schools.
“From the beginning, we viewed the strike announcements with concern, because they affect not only education but also family organization. However, this movement did not reach the magnitude of an official union strike, as in previous years. They were staggered, rotating strikes, and in many cases, teachers left work to avoid falling behind,” he explained.
Montaño specified that, according to the reports received by the association, less than 10% of schools actively joined the protests. For the most part, he said, these were schools where only a group or one teacher went out to demonstrate, while the others continued teaching. “We know that some schools didn’t shut down even a single day, and others did, but organized their groups so as not to leave their children without full attention,” he commented.
The parent representative emphasized that the real concern for households was the lack of foresight in the face of unexpected suspensions, whether due to strikes, a lack of water, or power outages. “Nowadays, in most homes, both mothers and fathers work, so having to suddenly decide where to leave the children becomes complicated. Many turn to grandparents, aunts and uncles, or neighbors, but there isn’t always someone available. Paying a caregiver isn’t an option either because it’s a significant expense,” he noted.
Regarding the academic impact, Montaño admitted that educational lag is inevitable in situations like these, although he downplayed the possibility that it would be as serious as some sectors perceive it. “There will always be lags for one reason or another. Perhaps there were cases where it was felt more, but it wasn’t the norm. Furthermore, in many schools, students were given work to do so they could progress from home,” he explained. Regarding testimonies claiming that students had missed up to 60 days of classes, he considered these to be isolated cases, possibly associated with other factors, such as leaves of absence or individual absences.
How many days were actually missed?
The number of days missed varied considerably between schools, depending on their level of participation during the protests. Some schools only participated in the initial strikes on March 12 and 13, as well as the statewide strike on March 26 and 28, or in specific mobilizations in May and June; in these cases, students missed between four and eight days of classes.
Other schools, particularly those that began a prolonged strike during April and part of May without going indefinitely, accumulated between 20 and 40 days without in-person academic activities. However, the most severe cases occurred in schools that participated in the indefinite strike beginning on March 28. In these schools, mainly in the municipality of La Paz, students missed up to 60 or even 80 consecutive days of classes, which represents almost a third of the school year.
Adding up the different types of participation, the state SEP estimated that the teachers’ strike affected at least 12 weeks (March, April, May, and part of June), although not all schools were closed for the entire period. If we consider the 50,000 students reported as affected by the SEP and multiply this by an average of 30 days lost, at least 1.5 million school days were lost throughout the conflict.
Why did the teachers protest?
The teacher mobilizations that partially paralyzed the basic education system in Baja California Sur during the 2024-2025 school year were led by dissident collectives such as the Teacher Movement of La Paz and Expresión Magisterial, groups made up of rank-and-file teachers who operated outside the official structure of the National Union of Education Workers (SNTE), Section 3. These groups managed to articulate a protest network with broad support among education personnel, including both teachers and administrative staff, especially in municipalities such as La Paz, Los Cabos, and Comondú.
Among the movement’s main demands was a comprehensive reform of the ISSSTE pension system, with the aim of repealing the 2007 Law, which, in the opinion of the teachers’ union, has deteriorated retirement conditions for education workers. Specifically, teachers demanded the reinstatement of the retirement system with 28 years of service for women and 30 for men, as well as the calculation of pensions in minimum wages rather than in UMAs (Units of Measurement and Update), since the latter formula significantly reduces the amount received by retirees.
Another key demand was the regularization of paid and temporary staff, that is, those workers who, despite working for years in the system, do not have a permanent position or job security. The movement also demanded the timely payment of quinquenios (economic incentives for seniority) that are in arrears, as well as the need for these payments to be federalized to ensure compliance without depending on state budgets.
Teachers also denounced the deficiencies in the medical services provided by the ISSSTE, including lack of specialized care, a lack of medications, and overcrowding in medical units. These demands were joined by national demands, such as a general salary increase and greater investment in educational infrastructure, highlighting the persistent problems of maintenance, a lack of furniture, and a shortage of basic teaching materials in many South California schools.
Throughout the protests, teachers summarized their list of demands with a slogan that became recurrent on banners, social media, and press releases: “We’re not asking for privileges, we’re asking for what’s fair.”
Official Response and Agreements
Governor Víctor Manuel Castro Cosío, a former teacher by profession, acknowledged the legitimacy of the demands but warned of budgetary limitations. In mid-April, he initiated negotiations with the federal Ministry of Public Education, which led to the May 2 announcement: SEP head Mario Delgado Carrillo confirmed the provision of 500 permanent positions (300 administrative and 200 teaching), in addition to 3,000 additional hours for subject-matter teachers, as part of a national regularization plan.
The state government did not apply sanctions or massive discounts during the strike. There was no police repression either. The instruction was to prioritize dialogue and avoid criminalizing the movement. In return, teachers were asked to design academic recovery strategies.
Although the school calendar was not officially extended, the SEP instructed each educational community to replenish content through workshops, curricular adjustments, reinforced assignments, and extraordinary sessions, with special attention to the 50,000 students affected by prolonged suspensions.
The return to school and what’s next
On June 17, 2025, after more than two months of protests, the striking teacher groups agreed to return to the classrooms, committing to continue fighting for their demands through institutional channels. The governor welcomed the decision and called for rebuilding the educational fabric with shared responsibility.
Despite the return, structural issues such as pensions and the base salary system have not been fully resolved. The teaching profession is expected to rethink its strategy for the next school year, and state and federal authorities are expected to make long-term commitments to the union.
Source: oem
