Mexico: Teachers Confront Bosses’ Fascism

MEXICO, June 29 — The teachers’ struggle here is intensifying as they have been forced to confront fascist terror from the capitalist class. In the fight against educational reforms, teachers are exposing capitalist democracy for what it is: a criminal apparatus to control the working class.
Worker-Student Unity
In spite of the huge advantages enjoyed by the repressive forces of the capitalist state, teachers, students and rural workers responded with bravery and dignity. In defiance of the bosses’ government, they burned the headquarters of the four dominant parties in Mexico. They also took over the headquarters of the electoral district to attempt to block the elections.
On June 7, the day of the federal elections, in spite of a military state of siege, teachers in struggle organized a huge demonstration and burned thousands of electoral ballots. One hundred forty-two people were arrested and sent to high security prisons in Nayarit, Veracruz and Mexico State. Most have been released, but 17 members of a solidarity organization are still incarcerated, accused of electoral crimes, terrorism, sedition, and carrying Molotov cock-tails.
The education reform introduced teacher evaluation tests. The tests are a way to terrorize and control education workers, who, according to the World Bank, are 54 percent women. They also disregard Mexico’s rural, indigenous, and Black students. Teachers in Oaxaca, Guerrero, Chiapas, Michoacán and Veracruz are the strongest contingents of the National Coordinating Committee of Educational Workers (CNTE). On June 1, these groups began local strikes to promote a national political strike that had the following goals: the repeal of the criminal structural reforms, the overthrow of President Enrique Peña Nieto, and the establishment of a popular government. This plan failed.
CNTE limited itself to fighting for its own demands: the repeal of the Education Reform; keeping public education free; job security; revocation of punitive evaluations; saving previous labor gains; acceptance of its educational proposal and freedom for political prisoners. To achieve these goals, they carried out a number of highly bold actions, including the boycott of deputies and governors elections, and blockades of gas stations, airports and international stores.
As of today, Section 22 of the CNTE in Oaxaca agreed to resume negotiating demands with the Interior Minister. But, education workers need a communist revolution, not a popular government or negotiations with the capitalists.
The State Terrorizes Workers
The bosses’ government led by Nieto in an effort to save the most expensive elections in history and the profits of his capitalist lords, sent his fascist apparatus to attack the teachers and weaken the struggle. Thousands of federal and local cops, soldiers and marines equipped with riot gear, high-caliber weapons, planes, helicopters and tanks, invaded Guerrero, Michoacán, Oaxaca and Chiapas. Oaxaca alone was occupied by 20,000 troops.
Fascism is the outgrowth of global capitalism. It is the intensification of the repressive and ideological forces in order to keep the existing capitalist class in power. As R. Palme Dutt wrote in Fascism and Social Revolution, “The causes of fascism lie deep-rooted in existing society. Capitalism in its decay breeds fascism” These fascistic conditions are what we are witnessing in Mexico.    
In the face of the capitalist government’s terror against the working class, and to respond to the parents’ and community support, the CNTE agreed on a tactical retreat to allow the completion of the school cycle. In spite of the bosses’ attacks through the media and in the streets and workplaces, the struggle will continue. During the summer vacation in July and August, there will be massive demonstrations in the Federal District.   
The Progressive Labor Party and CHALLENGE have played active roles in this trade union movement. We distributed thousands of flyers to infuse struggle with our communist analysis of how capitalist politics hurt the working class. PLP in Mexico presents a revolutionary strategy to destroy capitalism and to establish communism as the only solution to the problems faced by the working class. We will continue use this opportunity to strengthen the Party and advance towards a communist revolution.