Jared Laureles and Jessica Xantomila
La Jornada Newspaper
Friday, February 6, 2026, p. 11
Less than 24 hours after Carlos Aceves del Olmo announced that he will not seek reelection as head of the Confederation of Mexican Workers (CTM), the virtual candidates, who are the deputy general secretaries, have begun to try to publicly promote themselves to lead this labor union.
Tereso Medina, from Coahuila, who lost the collective contract at the General Motors plant in Silao, Guanajuato, to an independent union, shared a meeting he had with the Secretary of the Interior, Rosa Icela Rodríguez, in mid-January.
In this context, he called to maintain unity and avoid “fractures” within the labor movement.
In a statement, he added that “it is time to close ranks, strengthen the organization and avoid internal fractures that weaken the labor movement.”
Another candidate, Alfonso Godínez Pichardo, general secretary of the Federation of CTM Workers of Mexico City, begins to move his bases to try to reflect their support.
This is what happened on Wednesday, when about 2,000 people came to express support for Godínez Pichardo at the meeting in which Aceves del Olmo informed, with a letter to the national committee, that he will end his term and will cease to be general secretary on February 23.
The 10 deputy secretaries and other union leaders of the country attended the plenary session at the CTM headquarters.
Other candidates are added to these profiles, such as Fernando Salgado, former federal deputy of the PRI and deputy general secretary. Likewise, there is Gerardo Cortés García, leader of the National Union of Flour and Bakers.
special commission
Heading towards the replacement process in the national leadership, the CTM appointed Ismael Flores as special commissioner to lead the work of the 17th Ordinary National Congress, which will be held on February 24, and in which the labor union seeks to promote a “unity plan”, which could be elected that same day.
According to the call, on that date a temporary commission will be installed to carry out the election of the national committee, the National Commission of Comptrollership and Justice, as well as the legal coordination. The new leadership will be appointed for the period from February 25 to February 24, 2032.
According to information from this center, it has more than 4 million workers affiliated with more than 1,100 unions in the country and maintains a strong presence in the automotive, motor transportation, mining, maquiladora, railway and petrochemical sectors, among others.
