Around 200 teachers and sympathizers took to the streets to protest working conditions and pay on National Teachers Day. Demonstrators marched down Avenida 16 de Septiembre in Guadalajara and gathered in the Plaza de Armas to hold a demonstration class to secondary school students.
Among protestors’ demands were better salaries, updated text books and guarantees of teachers and service personnel in every school. According to the National Institute of Statistics and Geography (Inegi), only 25 percent of teachers earn more than five minimum salaries (8,500 pesos or US$560) and this number has decreased from 36 percent in 2000. While recent reforms designed to improve the quality of teaching and make teachers more accountable have generally been welcomed by parents, salaries – especially in the public sector – lag way behind other western nations and continue to impact on standards.
National Teachers Day has been celebrated on May 15 across the country since 1917.