Sindicato Nacional de Trabajadores de la Educación (SNTE)

Sindicato Nacional de Trabajadores de la Educación (SNTE) is one of the largest Latin American trade unions representing Mexican Teachers.  Created in 1943, the organization is still prominent in the Mexican movement for teachers’ rights and education policy (“Nuestra Razón de Ser”).  The SNTE has empowered the voices of Mexican teachers and assisted in supporting the educational system.  Originally a group based in Mexico and speaking on behalf of Mexican educators, the SNTE has now expanded to a global advocacy network on behalf of the rights to and for education (“Nuestra Razón de Ser”).

The Sindicato Nacional de Trabajadores de la Educación (SNTE) was first created by Ávila Camacho, President Cárdenas’s successor (La Botz).  Through the merging of some of the smaller yet prolific teachers’ movements at the time, the SNTE was designed to defend and promote education and the rights of educators, including the right to education equality (“Fundación Del Sindicato”).  In the early stages of the SNTE, many different ideologies jousted for dominance, forming a port of contention between the right, religious, and leftist party ideologies (La Botz).  As the organization grew and steadied, however, it was eventually solidily defined as non-conservative and non-religious and promoted for the purpose of supporting the Partido Revolucionario Institucional (PRI) (“Fundación Del Sindicato”).  However, in 1948, the Cold War entered Latin America through the interventionary tactics of the United States (Wood 2019).  The United States’ policies towards anti-communism, coupled with scare tactics and propaganda, caused a subversion of social movements in Mexico, including the undermining of the educators’ movement and unionization (La Botz; see also Wood 2019).  Anger flared among the educators and the subversive tactics of the United States and Mexican Government led to the first dissenting teachers protest in Mexico, led by the SNTE (La Botz).  The SNTE struck for higher wages, marking the point in which educators began to fight for themselves and the right to education (La Botz).  

The SNTE is the largest trade union in Latin America, still existing and working across Latin America advocating for education rights and equality.  It was the first to move against an oppressive government and has carried its momentum into the present age.  This first movement increased the unionization of workers and educators alike, sparking a social revolution for the rights of educators and recipients which has continued into the modern era.

Sources

La Botz, Dan. “The Long Struggle of Mexican Teachers”. Jacobin. Accessed March 7, 2022.. https://www.jacobinmag.com/2016/08/mexico-teacher-union-strikes-oaxaca/. 

“Nuestra Razón de Ser”. February 17, 2022. SNTE. https://snte.org.mx/.

“Fundación Del Sindicato Nacional De Trabajadores De La Educación (SNTE): Comisión Nacional De Los Derechos Humanos – México.” Inicio. Accessed February 22, 2022. https://www.cndh.org.mx/noticia/fundacion-del-sindicato-nacional-de-trabajadores-de-la-educacion-snte.

Wood, James A., and Alexander, Anna Rose, eds. 2019. Problems in Modern Latin American History : Sources and Interpretations. Blue Ridge Summit: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. Accessed March 7, 2022. ProQuest Ebook Central.