When I told Alejandro that I was planning on going downtown yesterday, he advised that I shouldn't. The CNTE, a militant teachers' union with a Marxist bent, was staging protests on Thursday and Friday. Their demands are a 100% increase in salary and the abolition of the 2013 educational reform act which requires the testing of teachers. They are opposed to the government expenditures for the World Cup games this summer at the expense of public sector salaries. This union is known for its disruptive protests, and last May they occupied the main plaza of Mexico City and blocked major thoroughfares for days.
I took a look at the "Webcams de México" website to see what was going on downtown. The teachers had set up tents in the Zócalo, although there were not as many during last year's protest. There was no traffic along the Paseo de la Reforma, so the union had obviously blockaded that boulevard.
However, looking at the other webcams, everything seemed normal. I decided to go ahead and go downtown. Because of the blockade on Reforma, the Metrobus along Insurgentes Avenue only went so far. I got off and then took the subway. I got off a couple of stops later and walked the rest of the way. Granted, I didn't go anywhere near the Zócalo, but everything seemed perfectly normal. I had planned to visit a special exhibit at one of the museums, and I had no problem. If it were not for the disruption to public transportation, I would have never known that anything out of the ordinary was going on.
This afternoon, I took another look at the webcams. There were still tents on the Zócalo, but fewer than yesterday.
It would appear that traffic is once again flowing along the Paseo de la Reforma.
Even though I was a teacher (and even participated in a lengthy teachers' strike), their disruptive tactics and their Marxist ideology turn me off. I can't muster much sympathy for these protesters.
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