MEXICO CITY (Sputnik) — On Monday, massive clashes between the teachers union and police took place in the Nochixtlan province in the state of Oaxaca, which resulted in deaths of ten out of twelve people after police had opened gunfire to clear the municipal roads. Teachers blocked the roads to protest against an employment reform which seeks to tighten requirements for teacher applicants.
"The government of Mexico on behalf of the Interior Ministry reiterates its willingness to hold a meeting with the SNTE-CNTE union…. The meeting is aimed to push for constructive solutions to restore order in the country's regions which have been hard-hit recently by the protests," the ministry said in a statement.
The meeting will be held at the Interior Ministry's premises and will be led by country's Interior Minister Miguel Chong, the statement specified.
The CNTE is a union of teachers established in Mexico in 1979. The union has become a powerful organization in recent years, having taking part in various anti-governmental demonstrations since 2013. It has even blocked access to Mexico City's airport in a bid to protest against 2012-2013 education reforms seeking to introduce testing systems for teachers.
