by: Ellen C. Caldwell
for JSTOR Daily
Recently teacher union protests over education reform turned deadly in Oaxaca State, Mexico. Demonstrations led by the largest and most powerful teaching union, known as Coordinadora Nacional de Trabajadores de la Educaciôn, or National Coordinator of Education Workers(CNTE), blocked streets and disrupted traffic, causing friction and violent clashes between teachers and state police. Preceding the protests, the government fired more than 4,000 teachersfor missing classes to strike, and following the clashes, over 100 people were injured (half police and half civilians), nine people were killed, and chaotic violence ensued.
Today’s strikes and struggles have been a long time in the making. The radical wing of CNTEhas led decades of annual strikes to increase teacher pay. In 2006, these peaceful protests turned deadly as they escalated in intensity with an increase in armed police officers, leading to civil unrest and violent turns. Lasting over six months, this upheaval caused the loss of lives and the displacement of more than one million students who couldn’t attend school during this time…