However, what is happening in several villages including Etla, Zimatlán, Arrazola and Trinidad de Viguera is that ultimata are being delivered.
The photo is from Viguera, just up the street, and seems to be in several papers. Parents are pissed and are threatening to switch to teachers from Section 59, the arch enemies of Section 22. Yes, these are teachers unions we are talking about. They are in a constant war with each other and, as in all wars, there are casualties. In answer to the demands of the parents, Section 22 has basically blown them off. It is going to get even more interesting in the next few days.
The sign says, "Enough already! Solution: return to classes immediately."
Unions are important here, so there is the whole workers' rights aspect to the issue. They still have power here, unlike in El Norte. As Anonymous commented earlier, they are still getting paid and in fact, even got bonuses.
from Imparcil:
The State Institute of public education in Oaxaca (IEEPA) will travel to Mexico City to give bonuses for "calendar setting" teachers who are in the encampment of the Zócalo, according to the newspaper El Universal.Nice work if you can get it.
This bonus, which goes between the 2,000 and 3,500 pesos, serves to compensate for those months of the year which do not have 31 days, according to officials of the IEEPA.
The payment is intended for the 73,000 teachers throughout Oaxaca and it will be partitioned by around 1,000 payers.
4 comments:
Yes, this is complicated. If you listen to the protestors in Mexico City (from Oaxaca), you realize how complex the issues are. The so-called reforms from the government seem to be mimicking a lot of the privatization "reforms" going on in the U.S. As I listen to the quite articulate and cogent leaders speak, I can't help but notice the same grievances teachers in the U.S. bring up: differences in needs and funding of schools across an entire nation, not asking the teachers what is needed to improve the situation in their schools (as though they were the enemy), pegging teacher licensing and promotion to "standardized" student scores (they point out that there IS no standardized student--wow--that sounds familiar), etc., etc.
It is clear there is historical corruption going on in teachers' unions as there is in EVERY other institution in the country, private and public. I think it is difficulty to unravel the past and fix it. However, even more ominous is the looming sale of public schools to private interests. Imposing untested, corporately lucrative, country-wide solutions to this massive problem is ultimately going to fail the children and their families.
Teachers are caught in the middle of this mess with poor salaries. College-educated teachers in México make much less than their peers in other fields from entry level and up. If they had no union, I'd hate to imagine what they'd be paid. $150-$225 bonus--not exactly HUGE money even in México. http://www.vanguardia.com.mx/sermaestrolabormalpagadaenmexico-1050286.html
Parents are angry when teachers don't show up. Students don't get the education they've been promised. It's a problem. I'm wondering what other avenues teachers have to protest what they perceive as "being sold out"--given their underdog position in society? I am watching their U.S. counterparts being ground into hamburger by Arne Duncan and Pearson Corporation, deprofessionalized, deunionized and attacked everyday in the media. They respond on blogs and doing things like forming Facebook BadAss teacher's groups in protest--a laugh in my view. No one is paying attention. I can't imagine U.S. teachers ever having the guts to do what Mexican teachers have done.
I see how much anger is directed toward Mexican teachers in the press and on the streets. I wonder why anyone in their right mind would go to such lengths to protest given the pushback they are receiving. When people feel powerless, they either roll over or fight back. Guess they're fighting back.
I agree, it is complicated. And I agree much of the "reform" is too much like the US's ill fated attempts. These people just don't get it and sadly, I guess they never will. The way I see it, investing in education is a no-brainer, because it pays off in so many ways and for so many years. You know, an educated workforce and all that. But then again. I think we ought to invest in infrastructure and renewable energy, so clearly, I am a DFH;-)
Section 22 is a real force in Mexico and they have been for many years. Like all things mexicano, there many factors at work, poverty and corruption being just a couple.
Remember that the daily wage here in Oaxaca is about $4.60 US so $150 is a significant amount. Of course, their salaries are terrible, but that seems to be the lot of many teachers and I speak with some intimate knowledge of the subject after working in a prestigious New England prep for nearly thirty years where the salaries were woeful.
Meanwhile, back at the ranchero... the mess continues.
$4.60 is not a professional person's wage, however.
I was just thinking that your new abode is a bit too far from a certain cocina familiar in a certain villa de Etla. How long does it take to get there now?--because I know you can't give that up!
BTW, please forgive the typos in my first diatribe. Funny what one sees the second time around. No edit function, drat.
Hope you are well. More pics of casa, pórfis.
No, Comedor Colon in Etla, the best restaurant that no one knows about, is still quite close. I am only one village over from San Sebastian so Etla remains my market.
On the salary issue, if memory serves, I think 75 percent of oaxaqueños make less than $25 US a day. It's a hard luck life....
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