March 16, 2023, 7:33 AM
March 16, 2023, 7:33 AM
The teachers of Santa Cruz complied yesterday with a day of blockade in the capital city and in the provinces in compliance with the national resolution of the teachers. Unlike other regions, they first held a general assembly in the facilities of the Florida National College Coliseum, where they decided to bring a proposal to the Confederation of Urban Education Workers of Bolivia (CTEUB) in which it is contemplated that a 24-hour national strike will be carried out for the next week if the Ministry of Education does not offer a solution to the conflict.
The leader of the Santa Cruz urban teachers, Osmar Cabrera, pointed out that the fight has to be deepened and that is why Santa Cruz proposes and demands the realization of a 24-hour national strike of activities and other measures of pressure, such as a hunger strike, if the demand is not met.
“Some colleagues asked me why Santa Cruz doesn’t start the strike by itself. I replied that if we go on strike alone, then on our backs Sanctions and persecutions will fall, that’s why we have to defend ourselves among all”said Cabrera, at the time of highlighting that the strike has to be national.
During the assembly, Cabrera also affirmed that no “sanctions or discounts” will be allowed for teachers, Otherwise, they will turn their forces against the representatives of the Departmental Directorate of Education (DDE) of Santa Cruz.
“If there is a colleague with a salary discount or sanctioned, we are going to set fire to the Departmental Directorate of Education, let it be clear, they can record it and send it to them, we have no problem dealing with them, they have been warned,” challenged the leader.
For his part, the head of the DDE in Santa Cruz, Edwin Huayllani, stressed that This institution is predisposed to dialogue and with its doors open to receive, listen and agree with the professors. “We want to point out that the best way to solve the conflict, the path to follow is dialogue, even more so if we are educators because two-way communication should always prevail.”
After the blockades registered yesterday, the teachers announced that for this day meetings are planned between the leaders of the Santa Cruz teachers with the district director, at 2:00 p.m., and with the departmental director of the DDE, at 5:00 p.m.
After concluding the meeting, the teachers formed a column that marched peacefully from the Florida National School to Santos Dumont Avenue, where they maintained the measure of pressure until 1:30 p.m. There were no incidents with drivers who usually go through this route because they diverted the route.
There were also blockades on the old route to Cochabamba, at kilometer 13, which was carried out by the Andrés Ibáñez Regional Federation, which brings together teachers from La Guardia, El Torno and Porongo.
“We receive the support of teachers and parents. At no time have we suspended classes because the mobilization is carried out in two shifts ”, explained Shirley Bonilla, executive of this regional. She announced that a second delegation of teachers and parents is scheduled to leave for La Paz next week to continue the pressure measures.
In Camiri, international section number 9, which connects Santa Cruz de la Sierra with this municipality and the border towns of Yacuiba and Villa Montes, it was blocked by the urban teachers until the end of the afternoon. On the other hand, the teachers of Concepción blocked for 12 hours at the height of the pump, on the exit route to the capital of Santa Cruz. For this measure, shifts were also worked, which avoided the suspension of classes.
