海角大神

Teaching a lesson? Striking Mexican teachers snarl capital with protests.

Public anger is a major challenge for President Pe帽a Nieto, who has pledged to improve schools and boost Mexico's economic growth.

For a week now, striking teachers have brought much of Mexico鈥檚 capital to a crawl with traffic-snarling protests, and the unrest looks likely to expand in coming days to capture discontent far beyond mandatory teacher evaluations.

The unrest is offering a major challenge to President Enrique Pe帽a Nieto鈥檚 drive not only to improve schools but also to boost Mexico鈥檚 economic growth rate by restructuring the state energy sector and the way Mexicans are taxed.

For the past week, tens of thousands of striking teachers have converged on 鈥� and disrupted life in 鈥� Mexico City.

Most of the teachers have thronged to Mexico City from the outlying states of Michoacan and Oaxaca, though more are expected from other states.

Strikers Tuesday swarmed outside the installations of Televisa, the media conglomerate, a day after they shut down the capital鈥檚 main boulevard. Last week, teachers 鈥� some of them smashing windows or tearing down fencing 鈥� blocked sessions of the two chambers of Congress, forcing legislators to convene across the city in a convention center, and hindered access to the international airport.

Squads of riot police have not moved against the protesters even though 29 police suffered injuries last week. Analysts said a police allergy to confrontation has emboldened striking teachers, increasing chances of greater violence.

鈥淭here is a strong sense that this group is trying to figure out a way where they could have a martyr,鈥� said Ana Maria Salazar, a political analyst and television commentator.

In one of his first achievements as president, Mr. Pe帽a Nieto in February enacted a sweeping education reform that sailed through Congress. Legislators last week took up secondary legislation, passing two laws but not a critical third one that would mandate teacher evaluations and regulate hiring and firing.

鈥淚f you don鈥檛 pass on your second evaluation, you lose your job. How is this possible?鈥� asked Vicenta Velazquez Reyes, a striking teacher from Zitacuaro in Michoacan state who led an encampment of strikers outside the Senate.

Pe帽a Nieto and Congress have a packed political agenda in coming weeks. The president offers his first state of the nation speech Sept. 1, and a week later will present a fiscal reform that is rumored to contain taxation on some foods and medicines, a move not likely to find many champions.

A two-time leftist presidential candidate, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, has convoked a massive Sept. 8 rally for opponents of a sweeping proposal announced earlier this month to open up Mexico鈥檚 oil industry to foreign investment.

鈥淭he next couple of weeks, two or three weeks, could potentially be very, very difficult in terms of mobilizations here in Mexico City,鈥� Ms. Salazar said.

Pe帽a Nieto vows not to back down. 鈥淲e are clear that all change invariably will bring resistance,鈥� he said Monday.

Especially in outlying states, Mexico鈥檚 teachers are seen as a voice for the poor even as their national union 鈥� at one time the largest in Latin America 鈥� became a formidable political force and a bastion of corruption.

Pe帽a Nieto鈥檚 government arrested the teachers union boss, Elba Esther Gordillo, in late February on corruption charges. She remains in jail.

Even as leftist sectors applaud the opposition to some of Pe帽a Nieto鈥檚 proposals, the road blockages and snarled traffic in the capital have exasperated many citizens and business owners.

Some 16,000 stores, restaurants, hotels, and other businesses in central Mexico City have been harmed in the past week, seeing business fall by as much as 87 percent, says the Mexico City Chamber of Commerce, Services, and Tourism.

鈥淲hat are we asking for? That police clear the streets so that we can transit them,鈥� said Gerardo Lopez Becerra, the chamber鈥檚 president. 鈥淚t鈥檚 not repression we are asking for. It鈥檚 the exercising of authority.鈥�

The main plaza of Mexico City, known as the Zocalo, is now a sea of colorful nylon tarps and tents, taken over by striking teachers, who are nearly all from outside the capital.

A poll published Monday by the El Universal newspaper said 82 percent of city residents do not believe authorities should permit marches that block roads.

Pressure is growing on Mexico City Mayor Miguel Mancera to limit disruptions. A prominent member of the leftist Party of the Democratic Revolution, Mr. Mancera does not want to antagonize his party鈥檚 grassroots base, even if that means that the metropolitan area鈥檚 more than 20 million residents are inconvenienced.

鈥淚 reiterate that we will protect the physical integrity of the citizens, of their belongings,鈥� Mancera said Tuesday, as he acknowledged that 鈥渨e know there is a convocation so that more people come鈥� to protests in the capital.

While the teachers protest in Mexico鈥檚 capital, some 2 million of Mexico鈥檚 26 million or so public school students are unable to attend classes.

Some Mexicans believe hidden forces are behind the unrest, seeking to derail Pe帽a Nieto鈥檚 proposals for lessening the power of the national teachers union, opening up of the state oil sector to foreign investment and increasing taxes.

鈥淲ho is paying for the hundreds of buses that the protesters use to move about? Who is paying for their meals?鈥� wrote Luis Apperti, a columnist for Milenio newspaper.

Mexico has the lowest tax collection rate of all 34 countries in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, a forum of democracies with developed market economies. Mexico collected 9.8 percent of its of economic output in taxes in 2012.