Mexico City police teargas teachers’ protest 10 days before World Cup | Mexico
Riot police fired tear gas at teachers marching towards Mexico City’s historic Zócalo plaza, just days before the square is expected to host the 2026 World Cup “Fan Festival”. The incident was the second time police clashed with teachers in the past week and clashes are expected to escalate as Mexico City prepares to host the opening match of the FIFA World Cup on June 11.
“This event will have to be suspended,” union leader Filiberto Frausto, who witnessed police firing tear gas on June 1, told AFP. “A cause like ours must be much higher; it is much more important than a little distraction and entertainment.”
Teachers affiliated with the CNTE union, calling for salary increases and the reversal of retirement laws, went on strike. threaten to protest During the World Cup in mid-May During the Teacher’s Day parade.
Pedro Hernandez Morales, general secretary of the CNTE 9th division in Mexico City, warned before the opening match that “the ball will not get rolling” if the demands are not met: Al Jazeera English reported.
Teachers demonstrating on Monday had breached one of the metal barriers blocking the Zócalo when riot police fired tear gas at them. AFP reported that one of the protesters said he was hit by an unidentified bullet and was taken away for bloodshed due to a head injury.
On May 26, Mexico News Daily reported He said riot police prevented teachers from the Oaxaca-based branch 22 of the CNTE teachers’ union, who were trying to enter the square to set up a protest camp.
“They suppressed us, they hit us, they pushed us,” Francisca Pérez, a teacher from Oaxaca, told the EFE news agency.
Azteca News reporter Manuel López San Martín shared images on social media of police using fire extinguishers to disperse teachers.
One joint statementThe Ministry of National Education and the Ministry of Internal Affairs said that the teachers’ union was warned that it was very dangerous to gather in the historical square due to the ongoing construction.
The union has threatened to summon “millions” of teachers to the capital during the World Cup if the government does not meet its demands and may call for a nationwide strike.
