Latin America
CNTE Congress in Brazil
From 9-16 January, the EI Latin America Chief Regional Coordinator, Combertty Rodriguez, attended the Ordinary Congress of the Confederación Nacional de los Trabajadores de la Educación de Brasil (CNTE) in Brasilia, Brazil, and participated in a session analysing the Brazilian political context and educational policies. A new Executive Committee of CNTE was elected during this congress.
Meeting with the Confederation of Workers of the Republic of Panama
From 7-8 February, EI Latin America Chief Regional Coordinator Combertty Rodriguez met with the Confederation of Workers of the Republic of Panama, to discuss possible membership of EI.
Meeting on child labour in Colombia
From 9-10 February, EI Latin America Chief Regional Coordinator Combertty Rodriguez met with the Federación Colombiana de Educadores‘ new President, Carlos Rivas, and the union’s Executive Committee. He also took part in an analysis of the International Labour Organisation’s Child Labour Eradication programme in the country.
Solidarity with trade union leader in Argentina
Death threats directed at Argentinian union leader Roberto Baradel has driven the union movement to act out of concern that teachers’ right to organise may be in peril. On 10 February, EI condemned this situation, which “infringes upon all types of social dialogue between those who govern and those who are governed and between authorities and workers, bordering on the violation of both union and human rights”. EI has urged Argentina’s Minister of Education, Esteban José Bullrich, to investigate the threats and to provide protection for Baradel and his family.
Meeting on Latin American Pedagogical Movement in Honduras
EI Latin America Chief Regional Coordinator Combertty Rodriguez and Gabriela Sancho travelled to Honduras from 14-15 February for a meeting with the Colegio Profesional “Superación Magisterial”(COLPROSUMAH) Executive Committee for an evaluation and planning meeting about the Latin American Pedagogical Movement.
Meeting on Latin American Pedagogical Movement in El Salvador
From 16-17 February, EI Latin America Chief Regional Coordinator Combertty Rodriguez and Gabriela Sancho travelled to El Salvador for a meeting with Andes 21 de Junio´s Executive Committee for an evaluation and planning meeting about the Latin American Pedagogical Movement.
Conference for the 100th anniversary of the constitution of Mexico
On the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the Mexican constitution, on 7-8 February, the Sindicato Nacional de Trabajadores de la Educación(SNTE) of Mexico, organised a national conference focusing on the importance of article 3 of the constitution that guarantees public, secular, free and compulsory education. Against the backdrop of continuing efforts to privatise education, EI Deputy General Secretary David Edwards, supported by an international panel consisting leading academics Antoni Verger, Gustavo Fischman and Carol Anne Spreen, highlighted the importance of mobilising support in defence of public education.
EI addendum to trade union complaint letter about disappeared teacher students in Mexico
From 13-17 February, the United Nations Human Rights Council reviewed the complaint filed by EI and six affiliates on behalf of the 43 Mexican student teachers who disappeared more than two years ago.
Last September, six affiliates (the American Federation of Teachers/USA, the Confederación de Trabajadores de la Educación de la República Argentina/Argentina, the Confederaçao Nacional dos Trabalhadores em Educação/Brazil, the Colegio de Profesores de Chile/Chile, the Unión Nacional de Educadores/Ecuador, and the Federación Colombiana de Educadores/Colombia) demanded answers to the as-yet unsolved violent events surrounding the Ayotzinapa rural teachers’ college in Guerrero in September 2014. EI added its name to the complaint on 6 February.
The complaint was addressed during the Human Rights Council Working Group on Communications held in Geneva, Switzerland.
