Mexico's ISSSTE warns CNTE pension demand would cost 20% of GDP

ISSSTE director Martí Batres told lawmakers that fulfilling the Central National Teachers' Strike Coordinator (CNTE) demand for a new pension system would require 7 trillion pesos, roughly 20 percent of Mexico’s GDP. He said an immediate repeal of the 2007 ISSSTE law is financially impossible because the state cannot dismantle individual accounts that belong to millions of workers.

Batres defended the government's proposal to strengthen PensionISSSTE and create a public insurer that would gradually increase the public sector’s share of pensions without jeopardising fiscal stability. He noted that the 2007 reform eliminated the solidarity pension system and shifted workers’ funds to private Afores, while Morena administrations have reduced Afore commissions and launched a Welfare Pension Fund.

Education Secretary Mario Delgado reported that the federal government has provided more than 23.7 billion pesos in benefits to teachers in Oaxaca—bonuses, salary raises, equipment, uniforms, school furniture and infrastructure—aimed at addressing the protests. Delgado highlighted the repeal of the 2013 education reform, the removal of teacher‑evaluation ties, and the introduction of the “New School” model, emphasizing dialogue as the path forward.