As Mexico City prepares to host the opening match of the World Cup on Thursday, teachers have pledged to continue their protests for increased wages and better labor conditions in the area surrounding the capital's legendary Estadio Azteca (Aztec Stadium) as part of a national strike announced June 1 by the CNTE education workers union, which is demanding a 100% pay-rise.
Over the past week, thousands of teachers have occupied the iconic Zocalo, or main square, blocked intersections and marched through the streets of the capital. Media report that security forces deployed tear gas against teachers who were attempting to occupy the Education Ministry.
On the Paseo de la Reforma (Promenade of the Reform), teachers tore down meter-tall statues of soccer stars that had been erected ahead of the World Cup, ripping the jerseys off the plastic players and burning them. "Without a solution, the ball won't roll," the teachers wrote on some of the fallen statues. Vandalism at the Ministry of Education where a fire was quickly extinguishedImage: Haaron Alvarez/AFP
The teachers are protesting the education and pension policies of Claudia Sheinbaum, who was elected president with broad labor support as the successor to Andres Manuel Lopez-Obrador, founder of the anti-neoliberal National Regeneration Movement (Morena) party. In May 2025, Sheinbaum's government announced a 10% raise for teachers by September 2026 — which the unions had rejected as wholly inadequate.
