Mexican teachers union, government face off over arrests

MEXICO CITY – A radical Mexican teachers union called on its rank-and-file and supporters to revolt Monday against the government after its top leaders were arrested.

The union said in a statement that “revolution is the correct thing to do when the government is unjust.”

Protesting teachers hijacked food and beverage trucks in the colonial city of Oaxaca and maintained an encampment in the city’s main square.

In at least two points on the main highway north of the capital leading to Mexico City, protesters blocked all commercial traffic causing miles-long backups of tractor trailers parked along the highway. Travelers in private vehicles were allowed to pass.

Federal prosecutors accuse union leaders of setting up an illegal financial network to fund protests and line their own pockets.

They allege the scheme operated in 2013-2015, when the union effectively controlled the payroll of Oaxaca’s teachers.

Union officials allegedly demanded a 3.5 per cent cut of unionized teachers’ purchases at some local businesses, and took that out of members’ paychecks.