Mexico City CNTE teachers union plans protests at FIFA World Cup 2026 opening

The Coordinadora Nacional de Trabajadores de la Educación (CNTE) continued its nationwide teachers’ strike with blockades of television stations in Mexico City and announced that protests will extend through the opening day of the FIFA World Cup 2026 on Thursday. Union leader Pedro Hernández said the demonstrations will avoid direct confrontation but will feature banners, signs and vocal demands, stressing the government’s failure to address their grievances.

CNTE also signalled coordination with other social movements, including the mothers of the 43 desaparecidos of Ayotzinapa and the “madres buscadoras,” and warned that they may join these groups in the stadium area. The union condemned the security checkpoint at Tlalpan, where buses carrying Ayotzinapa families were stopped and 59 homemade explosives were allegedly found, arguing that the teachers and families are not criminals. Hernández noted that the strike will continue until the school calendar ends on July 15, unless an agreement is reached with the government before then.