File spoon-archives/aut-op-sy.archive/aut-op-sy_1997/aut-op-sy.9707, message 14


Date: Thu, 3 Jul 1997 07:08:49 -0400 (EDT)
From: Spoon Collective <spoons-AT-jefferson.village.Virginia.EDU>
Subject: Mexican Labor News and Analysis, V II, No. 13 (fwd)


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---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Wed, 2 Jul 1997 23:03:01 -0400
From: Dan La Botz <103144.2651-AT-compuserve.com>
Subject: Mexican Labor News and Analysis, V II, No. 13

Dear Friend,
        Attached please find Mexican Labor News and Analysis, Volume II,
Number 13.
        In solidarity,
        Dan La Botz

--ef35f841-f34f-11d0-9d78-00805fea3c3d
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MEXICAN LABOR NEWS AND ANALYSIS=0D
July 2, 1997=0D
Vol. II, No. 13=0D
               About Mexican Labor News and Analysis=0D
     Mexican Labor News and Analysis is produced in collaboration=0D
with the Authentic Labor Front (Frente Autentico del Trabajo -=0D
FAT) of Mexico and with the United Electrical Workers (UE) of the=0D
United States and is published the 2nd and 16th of every month. =0D
     MLNA can be viewed at the UE's international web site:=0D
HTTP://www.igc.apc.org/unitedelect/. For information about direct=0D
subscription, submission of articles, and all queries contact=0D
editor Dan La Botz at the following e-mail address:=0D
103144.2651-AT-compuserve.com or call (525) 661-33-97 in Mexico=0D
City. =0D
     MLNA articles may be reprinted by other electronic or print=0D
media, but we ask that you credit Mexican Labor News and Analysis=0D
and give the UE home page location and Dan La Botz's compuserve=0D
address.=0D
     The UE Home Page which displays Mexican Labor News and=0D
Analysis has an INDEX of back issues and an URGENT ACTION ALERT=0D
section.=0D
CORRECTION=0D
     In the June 2, 1997 issue of Mexican Labor News and Analysis=0D
we erroneously reported that the Roche-Syntex workers had gone on=0D
strike on June 1. In fact, no such strike took place. Though the=0D
workers had announced their strike in newspapers appearing on May=0D
30, the strike was in fact called off at the last moment. An=0D
election was held at the plant and the long-time CTM union was=0D
defeated to be replaced by the employer's choice, a union=0D
offering an inferior protection contract. I regret this error and=0D
apologize to our readers. Dan La Botz, editor.=0D
IN THIS ISSUE:=0D
     *Cardenas Leads; PRI Could Lose Control of Congress=0D
     *After Fidel--CTM Overtures to Foro Group=0D
     *Protests Against New Social Security Law=0D
     *Mexico Privatizes Second Major Railway Line=0D
     *Teachers Continue Mobilization in Provinces=0D
     *Retirees and Widows Protest to Demand Higher Pensions=0D
     *Human Rights Groups Criticize Mexico for Torture=0D
     *Free Press in Mexico?? Fifty Attacks on Reporters or Media=0D
     *Social Statistics: Production, Employment Up, Wages Down=0D
     *Labor Book Notes: Zapatistas, NAFTA and Education, Union=0D
          Administration of the Railroads=0D
                 CARDENAS LEADS IN MEXICO CITY;=0D
               PRI COULD LOSE CONTROL OF CONGRESS=0D
                         by Dan La Botz=0D
     As if it were some omen of change, we awoke here in Mexico=0D
City on July 1 to find our streets, houses and cars covered with=0D
ashes from the volcano Popocatepetl which "exhaled" during the=0D
night, closing the international airport for several hours. =0D
     Is Popo's outburst a sign of the end of the PRI's one-party=0D
dictatorship? Or is it just more hot air like that spewing forth=0D
from many of the politicians?=0D
     With less than a week until the national elections,=0D
Cuauhtemoc Cardenas, the Party of the Democratic Revolution (PRD)=0D
candidate for mayor of Mexico City, continues to lead in the=0D
polls with 48 percent of the vote. =0D
     At the same time, it appears that the Institutional=0D
Revolutionary Party (PRI) could lose its majority in the Mexican=0D
congress. If so, it would be the first time since the 1920s that=0D
a Mexican president would not have the automatic support of the=0D
legislature.=0D
     In the Mexico City mayoral election, Alfredo del Mazo of the=0D
Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) trails far behind=0D
Cardenas with 20 percent of the vote, just one percentage point=0D
ahead of Carlos Castillo Peraza of the National Action Party=0D
(PAN). =0D
                    Greens--Party of Camacho?=0D
     Jorge Gonzalez Torres of the Mexican Ecological Green Party=0D
(PEVM) appears to have about 10 percent of the vote. The Green=0D
Party has had close ties to Manuel Camacho Solis, former PRI=0D
leader who has announced his candidacy for president in the year=0D
2000. Camacho Solis was a former appointed mayor of Mexico City=0D
and government negotiator with the Zapatista Army of National=0D
Liberation for Carlos Salinas de Gortari. Some people see the=0D
PEVM as a stalking horse for his candidacy. =0D
     Four other parties, known popularly as la chiquillada or the=0D
little kids, will probably get only one or two percent each.=0D
     Cardenas's election as mayor could be crucial to the future=0D
of Mexican politics, as many analysts see the Mexico City mayoral=0D
election as a launching pad for the presidential election in=0D
2000. Some 50 million Mexicans will elect 1,100 governors,=0D
senators, congress persons, and other officials on July 6, in=0D
addition to the Mexico City mayoral elections. =0D
     The election is complicated by the military occupation of=0D
many Mexican states. Human rights groups and non-governmental=0D
election organizations such as the Civic Alliance (Alianza Civica=0D
- AC) have argued that the military presence will intimidate=0D
voters and make a fair election difficult if not impossible,=0D
particularly in the states of Chiapas, Guerrero and Oaxaca.=0D
                    Final Election Rallies=0D
     The three major parties all held their final rallies last=0D
week, each one bringing tens of thousands of its followers to the=0D
Zocalo, Mexico's national plaza. The PRD appeared to have the=0D
largest following, perhaps 150,000 or more while the PRI and PAN=0D
assemblies were somewhat smaller.=0D
     While the PRD and PAN followers showed up out of political=0D
loyalty, the PRI's supporters had other motivations. The=0D
Department of the Federal District threatened to dock workers one=0D
day's pay if they did not show up for the rally, street vendors=0D
faced a five day suspension if they were absent, and small=0D
merchants faced a one hundred peso fine. The PRI also gave its=0D
supporters gifts and prizes worth as much as five dollars, and=0D
free sandwiches, fruit and drinks. Of course there were cardboard=0D
hats and balloons.=0D
     Crucial to the PRI rally was the support of the "official"=0D
unions: the Confederation of Mexican Workers (CTM), the=0D
Revolutionary Confederation of Workers and Peasants (CROC), and=0D
the Sole Union of Workers of the Federal District (SUTGDF). The=0D
CTM has mobilized the entire national organization to get out the=0D
vote for the PRI. =0D
     Management has also called upon employees to turn out=0D
voters. For example, department heads at the Mexican Insitute of=0D
Social Security (IMSS) received letters asking them how many=0D
votes for the PRI they would be able to turn out. Those who=0D
failed to respond were warned that their jobs might be in=0D
jeopardy.=0D
                    PRI Continues Attack on PRD=0D
     The PRI's president Humberto Roque Villanueva attacked the=0D
PRD as a party of "traitors," and likened the PRD to Judas. Both=0D
the PAN and the PRD, said Villanueva, want to divide the Mexican=0D
people, the PAN secretly and the PRD openly. =0D
     The big election scandal so far has been that of the anti-=0D
PRD videos. The PRI apparently had SUMMA Video Brock, a video=0D
production and reproduction company, produce thousands of copies=0D
of a short video juxtaposing falsified and real images which=0D
attempt to link Cardenas to the teachers' union demonstrations,=0D
the guerrilla movement of the People Revolutionary Army (EPR),=0D
and violence in general. The shop was shut down, but the videos=0D
are still being distributed free of charge to homes in middle=0D
class neighborhoods, but seemed to have had little effect on=0D
Cardenas's support and ratings.=0D
     The National Chamber of the Radio and Television decided to=0D
give television time to the PAN's Mexico City mayoral candidate=0D
Castillo Peraza who had been exluded from the debate between=0D
Cardenas and Del Mazo. But on July 1 when we tuned in to watch=0D
him, we found that the audio portion was unintelligible. The=0D
Chamber attributed the problem to the transmitter, but the PAN=0D
feared that the PRI was up to its old tricks. The PAN candidates=0D
presentation was re-broadcast on July 2 this time with sound.=0D
          PRD Wins Some Labor Support, Woos Business=0D
     While the PRI controls many government workers, a group of=0D
executive, legislative and judicial employees of the Federal=0D
District placed an ad in newspapers on July 2 expressing their=0D
support for Cardenas, "because he has been the only candidate who=0D
has solidarized himself with our struggle, has listened to us and=0D
has made our demands his..." The group urged all workers and=0D
union members to vote for Cardenas and the PRD.=0D
     The PRD continued to attempt to win support or at least=0D
neutrality from Mexican bankers and businessmen. Andres Manuel=0D
Lopez Obrador, president of the PRD, met with the Mexican Council=0D
of Businessmen at the Industrialists Club on June 11 to try to=0D
convince the country's commercial, financial and industrial elite=0D
that his party represented a reasonable approach to Mexico's=0D
problems. =0D
     "Let nobody make a mistake," said Lopez Obrador, reading=0D
from a prepared statement, "we are not against those who with=0D
tenacity and effort risk capital, create jobs, obtain legal=0D
profits and are committed to the development of Mexico." Lopez=0D
Obrador told the businesspeople he wanted a renegotiation of the=0D
debt, a larger role for the state in regulating the economy, and=0D
for higher taxes on those able to pay. The PRD also wants a=0D
reorientation of investment. "We think that instead of putting=0D
capital into financial speculation, they would do a great service=0D
to the country betting more on productive investment which=0D
creates jobs," said Lopez Obrador.=0D
     The PRD's campaign among business people appears to have=0D
worked. Mexican business interests, and New York bankers and=0D
brokers appear to be reconciled to the victory of Cuauhtemoc=0D
Cardenas in Mexico City and to the PRI's loss of power in the=0D
Congress. Even the Mexican government and the PRI appear to be=0D
prepared to face the biggest election defeat in nearly 70 years.=0D
                              ###=0D
                    AFTER FIDEL--NEW CTM LEADER=0D
                MAKES SOME OVERTURES TO FORO GROUP:=0D
                    IS RECONCILIATION UNDERWAY?=0D
     Following the death of Fidel Velazquez on June 21, Leonardo=0D
Rodriguez Alcaine was elected the new general secretary of the=0D
Confederation of Mexican Workers (CTM), and immediately took two=0D
actions which indicate some change in the posture of this most=0D
important state-supported Mexican labor organization.=0D
     First, Rodriguez Alcaine and Victor Flores Morales, rotative=0D
head of the Congress of Labor (CT), argued the necessity of=0D
renegotiating the current labor-management-government pact, known=0D
as the Alliance for Growth (APEC). Independent and democratic=0D
unions and rank and file workers have criticized this and=0D
previous pacts for keeping workers wages low.=0D
     Second, Rodriguez Alcaine and the CTM leadership called for=0D
dialogue with the moderate opposition known as the Foro group of=0D
unions. "The CTM is disposed to dialogue with the Foro group=0D
companeros, it is disposed to dialogue with the companeros both=0D
within and outside of the Congress of Labor in order to achieve=0D
the unity of the workers movement in Mexico," said Alcaine.=0D
     Foro group leaders responded positively but cautiously to=0D
the CTM leadership proposal. "We cannot speak the same language=0D
if we are talking about reuniting in order to recreate the same=0D
model and simply forgetting the past conflicts, while everything=0D
goes on the same as it has until now, because this would be=0D
unacceptable for us," said Francisco Hernandez Juarez, probably=0D
the most important figure in the Foro group of unions.=0D
     "The fact that they call for unity doesn't mean that they=0D
are ready to change," said Antonio Rosado, general secretary of=0D
the Social Security Workers Union. "The CTM should understand=0D
that what is needed is a renovation of the whole system, of its=0D
structures." Rosado also said that the CTM would "have to quit=0D
acting as if they were the owners (duenos) of the labor=0D
movement."=0D
                         Talks Begin=0D
     Whatever their reservations, on June 30 the Foro group=0D
created a formal contact group to meet with Juan S. Millan, the=0D
spokesperson for the CTM executive committee, and possible=0D
candidate to replace Rodriguez Alcaine as general secretary. Many=0D
see Millan as somewhat more liberal than Rodriguez Alcaine.=0D
     At the same time, the Federation of Unions of Firms of Goods=0D
and Services (FESEBES), whose members belong to the Foro group,=0D
began a series of "extraofficial" discussion with the CTM. Millan=0D
of the CTM met with Rosado of the Social Security workers union.=0D
     Various leaders of the opposition union bloc stated=0D
repeatedly that they would not leave FESEBES or the Foro group,=0D
which can only lead one to speculate that some split in the=0D
opposition may be developing.=0D
     The CTM has dominated the Mexican labor movement since its=0D
foundation in 1936. The Forum of Unionism Before the Nation or=0D
Foro group of unions was born on September 4, 1995 when 13 unions=0D
held a public forum to discuss the issue of unemployment.=0D
Subsequently another dozen unions joined the opposition=0D
coalition.=0D
     While both the CTM and the Foro group now both talk about=0D
the need for democracy and modernization of the union movement,=0D
neither is talking about the need to carry out union campaigns to=0D
fight the employer. The level of union strike activity remains at=0D
an all-time low. Only the National Coordinating Committee of the=0D
Teacher Union (la CNTE) engages in mass protests and strikes.=0D
                              ###=0D
          PROTESTS AGAINST NEW SOCIAL SECURITY LAW'S=0D
                    PRIVATE PENSION FUNDS=0D
     Mexico's new Social Security law privatizing the financing=0D
of the retirement programs of the Mexican Insitute of Social=0D
Secuity (IMSS) went into effect on July 1, and several groups=0D
engaged in various sorts of protests.=0D
     The Movement in Defense of Public Social Security placed=0D
demands for an "amparo," something like an injunction, before the=0D
Mexican Supreme Court (SCJN). The group seeks to stop the new=0D
private pension system from taking effect.=0D
     At the same time, the National Coordinating Committee in=0D
Defense of a Solidarity Social Security System took its case to=0D
the Mexican House of Representatives where it called for the=0D
repeal or reform of the law.=0D
     In the Zocalo, the national plaza in Mexico City,=0D
representatives of 30 organizations, altogether some 200=0D
demonstrators, protested against the threat to the other major=0D
social security system, that of state employees (ISSSTE). =0D
     At present about 4,700,000 workers, about half the workforce=0D
affected by the law privatizing IMSS pension funds, have signed=0D
up for one or another of the private pension plans. Those who=0D
have not signed up have their funds placed in a "concentrating=0D
account" in the Banco de Mexico which does not produce interest.=0D
     A study by the Mexican Institute of Social Security shows=0D
that workers who earn one minimum wage during an entire working=0D
life will only generate enough pension funds for 3.9 years of=0D
retirement. Thus two million workers will not have adequate=0D
retirement funds. =0D
                              ###=0D
                    MEXICO PRIVATIZES SECOND=0D
                      MAJOR RAILROAD LINE=0D
     On June 26 the Mexican government sold off the second major=0D
railroad line, the Pacific North Railroad, to the Mexican=0D
Railroad Group (Grupo Ferroviario Mexicano (GFM). GFM is made up=0D
of the Grupo Mexico, Associated Civil Engineers (Ingenieros=0D
Civiles Asociados - ICA) and Union Pacific. The railway was sold=0D
for 4.20 billion pesos or 524.5 million dollars. =0D
     With this sale, 80 percent of the Mexican railroad system=0D
measured in tons per kilometer has been privatized.=0D
     The Mexican government has made it clear that in the=0D
privatization of the nation's railroads, not all 44,000 railroad=0D
workers will be rehired. In the case of the Pacific North=0D
Railroad which employs 6,700 workers, only those unionized=0D
workers needed by the company will be rehired, a government=0D
spokesman said. A special fund is being created for the pensions=0D
of the country's 56,000 retired railroad workers. =0D
     Victor Flores, head of the railroad workers union and of the=0D
Congress of Labor, has had virtually nothing to say about this=0D
particular process of privatization. In general Flores and the=0D
union have supported privatization, while some small rank and=0D
file railroad workers groups have opposed it.=0D
                              ###=0D
               TEACHERS CONTINUE MOBILIZATIONS=0D
                      IN THE PROVINCES=0D
     Mexican teachers continued their protests in the provinces=0D
in demand of higher wages throughout the last two weeks of June.=0D
The dissident teachers organizations once again showed their=0D
creativity and militancy in a variety of confrontations in=0D
several states.=0D
     In Pachuca, Hidalgo, 3,000 teachers seized the government=0D
palace, a radio station and a local newspaper and blocked=0D
highways demanding a 100 percent wages increase.=0D
     In Durango and Tijuana, Baja California, 1,200 teachers at=0D
the government technical schools left work to demand the same 6=0D
percent wage increase and 10 percent benefit increase received by=0D
regular school teachers. =0D
     In Queretaro, thousands of teachers occupied public=0D
buildings and blocked highways to demand a 100 percent wage=0D
increase. The teachers in Queretaro from Local 24 of the Teachers=0D
Union (SNTE) are led by the State Coordinating Committee of=0D
Education in Guerrero (CETEG).=0D
     Meanwhile in Guerrero, police arrested the general secretary=0D
of SNTE delegation D-III-2, Mariano Maya Vazquez and academic=0D
subdirector Raul Leyva Martinez, leaders of the mobilizations in=0D
that state which have been going on since June 16.=0D
     In a National Assembly of the National Coordinating=0D
Committee of the Teachers Union (la CNTE), held on June 16 in=0D
Tlapa, Guerrero, teachers called for an end to the militarization=0D
of the state and condemned repression of teachers and Indians.=0D
                              ###=0D
          RETIREES AND WIDOWS PROTEST IN MEXICO CITY=0D
               TO DEMAND IMPROVEMENTS IN PENSIONS=0D
     About 1,500 members of the National Unifying Movement of=0D
Retirees and Pensioners (MUNJP) demonstrated at the Legislative=0D
Palace in Mexico City on June 17 to demand improvements in=0D
pensions. The movement, led by the anthropologist Blanca Irma=0D
Alonso Tejeda, daughter of the group's deceased former leader=0D
Eduardo Alonso Escarcega, calls for a pension two times the=0D
minimum wage and for making widows' benefits the same as those of=0D
a retiree. =0D
     The retirees also want: scholarships for the children and=0D
grand-children of retirees; special rates from the electric and=0D
gas companies; a minimum pension of 250 pesos a month (about 31=0D
dollars); and that IMSS clinics and vacation centers remain=0D
public.=0D
                              ###=0D
                    UNIVERSITY WORKERS DEMAND=0D
                   FIFTY PERCENT WAGE INCREASE=0D
     The Union of Workers of the National Autonomous University=0D
of Mexico (STUNAM) are demanding a 50 percent wage increase.=0D
Augustin Rodriguez, general secretary of STUNAM, which represents=0D
24,000 workers called for immediate negotiations to achieve a 50=0D
percent wage increase retroactive to June 1. About 1,000 workers=0D
demonstrated at the Tower of the Rector on June 20 in support of=0D
the demand. =0D
     Rodriguez has strongly criticized the University's new=0D
rector Francisco Barnes de Castro, saying that his "extreme=0D
roughness" in dealing with student problems is a "time-bomb."=0D
     At the same time, teachers on strike at the National=0D
Pedagogic University (UPN) were warned that if they continue=0D
their work stoppage they will be docked pay. The UPN teachers are=0D
demanding that that university recognize their union=0D
representatives and quit harassing the union.=0D
                              ###=0D
                    HUMAN RIGHTS GROUPS CONTINUE=0D
                  TO CRITICIZE MEXICO FOR TORTURE=0D
     Two human rights groups continue to criticize Mexico for=0D
human rights violations, particularly for the widespread use of=0D
torture. AI also pointed out that extra-judicial execution, that=0D
is state killing of political opponents also exists in Mexico.=0D
     Amnesty International (AI) in its annual report described=0D
the torture problem: "Security forces, including the Army and=0D
paramilitary groups, tortured hundreds of arrested persons, among=0D
them children, human rights activists, journalists, and members=0D
of ethnic minorities. At least three persons, including one=0D
minor, died as a result of the tortures.=0D
     "Among the methods of torture are beatings, semi-=0D
asphyxiation with plastic bags and water, forced introduction of=0D
water with pepper in the nostrils and electric charges. The=0D
torture victims have not received adequate medical attention=0D
during their imprisonment." Such torture, said AI, goes on with=0D
impunity.=0D
     AI also criticized Mexico for holding dozens of persons=0D
prisoners of conscience, that is prisoners for their political=0D
views. Dozens of persons have been disappeared, while hundreds of=0D
persons disappeared in past years have not yet been explained. AI=0D
pointed out that the Mexican government holds General Francisco=0D
Gallardo as prisoner because he advocated the creation of a=0D
military ombudsman. The human rights group also mentioned the=0D
imprisonment of Joaquin Hernandez Galicia and other leaders of=0D
the oil workers union as an injustice.=0D
     The president of the Commission of Human Rights of the=0D
Assembly of Representatives of the Federal District (ARDF),=0D
Salvador Abascal, reported in June that the "violation of=0D
individual guarantees continues to be very serious." He mentioned=0D
in particular the use of torture, which goes on continually in=0D
the jails and prisons of the city.=0D
                              ### =0D
                    FREE PRESS IN MEXICO??=0D
               FIFTY ATTACKS ON REPORTERS, MEDIA=0D
     Reporters are workers, and in Mexico working conditions are=0D
not good.=0D
     There were at least fifty attacks on reporters and the media=0D
in Mexico in 1996 according to the Paris-based international=0D
organization Reporters without Borders founded in 1985.=0D
     In its annual report, Reporters Without Borders listed six=0D
illegal arrests, 15 physical attacks, 11 cases of harassment and=0D
threats, 11 cases of the use of legal suits to dissuade=0D
reporters, one disappearance of a reporter, three impediments to=0D
the circulation of the national press and three impediments to=0D
the circulation of the foreign press. =0D
     These cases involved magazines and newspapers and radio and=0D
television from various states of Mexico. For example, Oswaldo=0D
Alonso of RADIOGRAMA was kidnapped from his home in Cuernavaca,=0D
Morelos after criticizing the local police. Similarly in Ciudad=0D
Obregon, Sonora, Heriberto Pena leon of the EXTRA DE LA TRADE was=0D
attacked by 10 men after having criticized the local police.=0D
                              ###=0D
SOCIAL STATISTICS=0D
               INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTION AND EMPLOYMENT UP=0D
                     BUT WAGES ARE STILL DOWN=0D
Foreign Investment=0D
     The United States is far and away the biggest direct=0D
investor in Mexico, contributing 69.7 percent of the direct=0D
investment in the first four months of 1997. Total U.S.=0D
investment was 499.1 million dollars in the first third of the=0D
year. Korea followed with 13.7 percent of the direct investment,=0D
or 98.0 million dollars. (Yadira Mena, "Abarca 69.7% inversion=0D
direct de EU en Mexico," REFORMA 19 June 1997.)=0D
Foreign Trade and Investment.=0D
     Exports rose 18.6 percent in the first four months of 1997,=0D
while investment rose 18.1 percent, according to the Secretary of=0D
Finance (SHCP). (Antonio Castellanos, "Aumentaron 18.6 y 18.1%=0D
las exportaciones y la inversion," LA JORNADA 20 June 1997.)=0D
Industrial Production=0D
     Mexico's industrial production grew 15 percent in April=0D
compared to April of last year, according to the Secretary of=0D
Finance (SHCP). In the first four months, the industrial sector=0D
grew by 8.4 percent. (Antonio Castellanos, "Hacienda: crecio 15%=0D
la production industrial in abril," LA JORNADA 18 June 1997.=0D
Maquiladora Employment=0D
     Maquiladora employment is up 20.7 percent compared to this=0D
time 1996, according to the Mexican National Institute of=0D
Statistics (INEGI). According to INEGI, 873,748 workers were=0D
employed in the maquiladoras in April of 1997. (Ernesto Sarabia,=0D
"Aumenta en 20.7% empleo maquiladora," REFORMA 28 June 1997.)=0D
Unemployment=0D
     In May, the open unemployment rate fell to 3.9 percent of=0D
the economically active population (PEA), its lowest point in the=0D
last 29 months, according to the Mexican National Institute of=0D
Statistics (INEGI). (Ernesto Sarabia, "Llega desempleo a niveles=0D
del '94," REFORMA 19 June 1997.) Many authorities estimate the=0D
actual combination of unemployment and underemployment as near 25=0D
percent.=0D
Employment and Wages=0D
     While industrial manufacturing employment rose 5.1 percent=0D
in the first four months of 1997, real wages per person employed=0D
fell 2.9 percent, according to the Mexican National Institute of=0D
Statistics (INEGI). ("Sube el empleo, baja el salario," REFORMA=0D
27 June 1997.)=0D
Fall in the Purchasing Power of Wages=0D
     Since 1994, real wages have lost 26 percent of their=0D
purchasing power, according to the Commission on Distribution and=0D
Management of Consumer Good of the Mexican Senate. ("Cayo 26% el=0D
poder de compra del salario respecto al 94," LA JORNADA 27 June=0D
1997.)=0D
Fall in Consumption of Basic Goods=0D
     The Mexican Association of Studies for the Defense of the=0D
Consumer (AMEDEC) reports that in the national market in the last=0D
three years, consumer began to give up meat, milk and chicken and=0D
substitute them with other products. The consumption of these=0D
goods, said AMEDEC, fell between 24 and 30 percent since 1994.=0D
(Particia Munoz Rios, "Dramatica caida en el consumo de basicos,"=0D
LA JORNADA 19 June 1997.)=0D
Poverty=0D
     The poverty rates in Latin America remain between 30 and 35=0D
percent of the population, according to the executive vice=0D
president of the World Bank, Shahid Javed Burki. "Now there are a=0D
greater number of poor people living in Mexico than two or three=0D
years ago," he added. (Jim Cason and David Brooks, "Hay mas gente=0D
pobre en Mexico que hace dos o tres anos: BM," LA JORNADA 27 June=0D
1997.)=0D
Malnutrition=0D
     According to a study by the National Nutrition Institute, 43=0D
percent of all minors in rural indigenous and marginal areas are=0D
malnourished to some degree. (Angeles Cruz, "Desnutrido en algun=0D
grado, 43% de ninos indigenas: encuesta del INN," LA JORNADA 28=0D
June 1997.)=0D
Abuse of Migrants=0D
     The American Friends Service Committee reports that in the=0D
last 28 months there have been 239 cases of the abuse of migrants=0D
at the Tijuana-San Diego border by the Border Patrol or other=0D
police agencies. (Jorge Alberto Cornejo and Ruben Villalpando,=0D
"ONG: en 28 meses, 239 casos de abuso contra indocumentados,"=0D
REFORMA 25 June 1997.)=0D
Sexual Exploitation of Children=0D
     Sexual abuse of children is on the increase in the city of=0D
Mexico, according to the Miguel Augustin Pro Juarez Center for=0D
Human Rights, a Roman Catholic organization. UNICEF estimates=0D
that 13,376 children live on the streets of Mexico, and many of=0D
them fall victim to sexual abuse. (Triunfo Elizalde, "Crece la=0D
explotacion sexual de menores en la ciudad de Mexico," LA JORNADA=0D
27 June 1997.)=0D
                              ###=0D
LABOR BOOK NOTES=0D
Yvon Le Bot. Subcomandante Marcos: El sueno zapatista. Mexico: =0D
     Plaza y Janez, 1997. 376 pages.=0D
     Yvon Le Bot's new book (issued simultaneously in Spanish and=0D
French) represents one of the most important contributions to the=0D
discussion of the Chiapas Rebellion and the Zapatista Army of=0D
National Liberation (EZLN). Le Bot's book, sympathetic to the=0D
Mayan Indians and the Zapatista rebels, offers one of the most=0D
intelligent and critical examinations of the Zapatista movement=0D
and its politics. This book represents a turning point in the=0D
literature dealing with the Zapatista movement, opening a window=0D
and letting fresh air circulate in academic and political=0D
circles. =0D
     The first half of the book is a long introductory essay by=0D
Le Bot, while the second is comprised of interviews with=0D
Zapatista leaders Marcos, Moises and Tacho. What makes this book=0D
so important are the questions Le Bot asks or implies, both in=0D
his introduction and in his interviews. How did the EZLN's=0D
politics evolve? What was the relation between the original=0D
Guevarist project and the Indian movement? How democratic was the=0D
traditional Mayan village? How democratic is the Zapatista Mayan=0D
village? What is the relationship between the Zapatista project=0D
in the Maya lands, and a possible democratic project in Mexico as=0D
a whole? Le Bot--and Marcos--suggest that the answers to these=0D
questions are more problematic than many of their supporters=0D
understand. This book cannot be recommended too highly to those=0D
interested in the Zapatista movement or engaged in solidarity=0D
organizations. =0D
                           ***=0D
Hugo Aboites, Viento del Norte: TLC y privatizacion de la=0D
     Educacion Superior. Mexico: Casa abierta al tiempo and Plaza=0D
     y Valdez Editores, 1997. Notes, 429 pages.=0D
     Hugo Aboites is not only a professor and researcher in the=0D
Department of Education and Communication of the Metropolitan=0D
Autonomous University at Xochimilco, but also an activist and=0D
advisor to the movement of students and parents which has=0D
challenged so-called educational reforms. In this significant=0D
book, Aboites examines the influence of the North American Free=0D
Trade Agreement (NAFTA), organizations such as the World Bank and=0D
International Monetary Fund, and the American model of higher=0D
education on Mexico's university system. =0D
     Aboites argues that the United States's model of education=0D
based on tuition, restriction of access, commercialization of=0D
services, and links to private industry has worked to destroy=0D
Mexico's tradition of free higher education. Aboites argues in=0D
the conclusion of his book that Mexicans should fight for=0D
autonomy, democracy, and the creation of an economy which=0D
improves the lives of Mexico's masses. Everyone interested in=0D
issues of higher education in Mexico and the United States, and=0D
in the effects of NAFTA and neo-liberalism on our societies=0D
should get and read this book.=0D
                           ***=0D
Gustavo Lopez Pardo, La Administracion Obrera de los=0D
     Ferrocarriles Nacionales de Mexico. Mexico: UNAM & El=0D
     Caballito. Notes, bibliography, 217 pages.=0D
     Gustavo Lopez Pardo, a researcher at the Institute of=0D
Economic Investigations of the National Autonomous University,=0D
has written an important book about one of the most fascinating=0D
episodes of Mexican labor history: the workers' administration of=0D
the national railroads from 1937 to 1941 during the=0D
administration of President Lazaro Cardenas. Cardenas completed=0D
the nationalization of the Mexican railroads (begun during the=0D
Porfiriate), but this turned railroad workers into public=0D
employees without the right to strike. To resolve this conflict=0D
with the railroad workers union, Cardenas turned the=0D
administration of the railroads over to the union. =0D
     Cardenas made it clear that the union's could administer the=0D
railroads, but did not own them and could not determine their=0D
basic policies, such as shipping rates. The railroads remained=0D
capitalist corporations, albeit owned by the government and run=0D
by the union. The once militant union, now both manager and=0D
workers' representative, became deeply divided internally and=0D
ineffective in either role. Eventually the railroad management=0D
passed back into the hands of the state. This book makes an=0D
important contribution to the history of the Mexican labor=0D
movement and the Cardenas administration, and to discussions of=0D
workers' management of industry.=0D
END OF MEXICAN LABOR NEWS AND ANALYSIS VOL II NO 13, JUNE 2, 1997
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