EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) – Protests by Mexican teachers disrupted traffic at the Paso Del Norte and Ysleta-Zaragoza bridges on Friday, May 23, according to our crews in Juarez.
Our crews in Juarez said dozens of teachers were at the pay toll booths, allowing vehicles and pedestrians to cross to the U.S. without paying the toll on the Mexican side.
Teachers were protesting to demand a solution to the Retirement Funds Administrators (Administradoras de Fondos para el Retiro or AFORE) issues, and to change the Institute for Social Security and Services for State Workers (Instituto de Seguridad y Servicios Sociales de los Trabajadores del Estado or ISSSTE) Law Reform that was approved in 2007, our crews in Juarez said.
According to an article by Education International, the ISSSTE Law, which governs social security and pensions for Mexico’s state workers, “introduced a pivotal change by transitioning from a solidarity-based pension scheme to one reliant on individual accounts.”
The law was under fire for “undermining the acquired rights of state workers and perpetuating injustice against those dedicated to the nation’s development, including teachers and education support personnel,” according to the article.
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