Jared Laurels
Newspaper La Jornada
Sunday January 22, 2023, p. 8
The democratization pursued by the labor reform is being extremely slow
and it has been insufficient to break with the cacicazgos in trade unionism, researchers and specialists pointed out.
labor authorities have shied away from confronting the old corporate apparatus
putting conciliation first, even if this means continuing to tolerate those leaderships that are recycling
and allow the everlasting leaders to remain at the head of the organizations exercising their power of control, noted Héctor de la Cueva, coordinator of the Center for Labor Research and Union Consulting.
There is still protectionism
Susana Prieto, labor advisor and federal deputy, and Cirila Quintero Ramírez, researcher at the Colegio de la Northern border.
The possibility of renewing Mexican unionism in this government little by little has faded. The union leader of the telephone operators, Francisco Hernández Juárez, has held office for 13 consecutive terms. His last re-election was on September 10, 2020, despite the provisions to extend the taking of notes as there were no conditions to hold elections due to the pandemic, said José del Refugio Cano, from the Union of Telephone Operators in Fight.
The life leader came to the leadership hoisting the flag of non-reelection and this 2023 he will be in power for 47 years.
Re-election is constant and they maintain it based on all kinds of tricks: reforms to statutes, persecution and methods of repression, mentioned Prieto Terrazas and De la Cueva.
They recalled the vote for the leadership of the oil union held a year ago, in which the labor authorities endorsed the triumph of Ricardo Aldana, unconditional supporter of Carlos Romero Deschamps, who headed the union for 26 years.
In addition, the General Executive Committee of Aldana, like the majority of the 36 local leaders, were made up of former members of the Romero Deschamps team.
Workers and former candidates for the general secretariat of the oil union demanded the use of the digital platform Sirvolab, which was developed by the Secretary of Labor and made available to the union. The dissidence accused that this method is not established in its statutes.
In the Union of Workers of the UNAM, in April 2022 the continuity of the current linked to the late life leader Agustín Rodríguez, who was in charge of the union for 28 years, was confirmed. Carlos Hugo Morales now heads the union and in the finance portfolio he is accompanied by Arnoldo Rodríguez, son of the late former general secretary.
Other union leaders also maintain the pace of reelection. Víctor Flores Morales took over the reins of the railway union in 1995. In 2025, Víctor Fuentes del Villar will celebrate two decades as head of the Single Union of Electrical Workers of the Mexican Republic. While Martín Esparza will also add 20 years as leader of the Mexican Union of Electricians.
Exists a paradox
since great advances have been achieved since independent unions have resorted to the T-MEC to resolve cases such as that of General Motors, in Silao, or Teksid, in Coahuila, after eight years of struggle by the miners, said Óscar Alzaga, general coordinator of the National Association of Democratic Lawyers.
Quintero Ramírez explained that the unions charros know their bases or they cling to the political alliances they have to continue living
That is why these structures have not been disrupted.
