Jared Laureles
The newspaper La Jornada
Sunday, July 21, 2024, p. 14
Prior to the start of Claudia Sheinbaum’s government on October 1, the old union leaders, eternalized in the large unions, have rushed their re-election, to adapt
to the new administration, but also to ensure their permanence
at the head of their organizations.
This is the case of the oil workers’ union, which last Monday held its election process in its 36 sections and where people close to Carlos Romero Deschamps, who died in October of last year, were perpetuated.
The same thing happened at the Single Union of Electrical Workers of the Mexican Republic (SUTERM), where Víctor Fuentes del Villar was re-elected until 2031, which will make him 25 years as leader of this union.
In both cases, the elections were held earlier than planned, as they were originally scheduled to take place in November, said candidates for the leadership and workers of both organizations.
Alberto Romero, coordinator of Liaison at the Workers’ University of Mexico, said that this action responds to the fact that trade union organizations are seeking line
to the new administration to address the labor agenda, mainly the large unions with workforces of around 100 thousand workers.
With the old practices of charrismosuch as the theft of ballot boxes, slamming doors and obstacles to prevent workers from voting, in the oil union candidates who competed as a single slate were re-elected family and friends
to the late leader.
Representatives of dissident groups have indicated that the Union of Oil Workers of the Mexican Republic brought forward the election of the sectional leadership by three months, and it is expected that the call for the general secretary will be issued in the coming weeks.
María de Lourdes Díaz, who heads the National Movement for Oil Transformation, believes that this is because the next administration will promote reforms that will prevent re-election, which will affect union organizations.
Meanwhile, Juana Cristina Balderas Pérez, the only woman who competed in the SUTERM process, accused the election of being full of irregularities, since in addition to bringing forward the vote, they were only allowed 12 days of campaigning.
