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Thousands of teachers from all across Mexico are marching toward the presidential palace as part of a highly charged national teacher strike which comes with just 10 days to go before the start of the World Cup. As the teachers demand higher salaries and an overhaul to their pension system, we are trying to bring attention to our needs. They spend millions on the World Cup and nothing in the classrooms. We don't believe Mexico is in a position to be hosting a World Cup. The teachers we've spoken to here say that if their demands are not met by the government, they would be prepared to block the Mexico City airport, the World Cup stadium, and the road leading to both of them, which gives you an idea of
just the amount of disruption that can be caused in a city that's expecting millions of visitors in the coming weeks. For its part, the government says negotiations are continuing with the president insisting on Monday that her administration is doing everything it can to address the teachers concerns. Through dialogue, we will take care of the issues we can solve. Some of their demands the national budget just doesn't allow to be met. But we are already looking into the issues that can be addressed. Briot police have just started launching tear gas canisters here after protesters started pushing the barricade that had been set up to keep them from reaching the city center which is essentially a
block from where we are right now. As you can see here, there's a FIFA fan zone that's been set up in that main square. And the argument for many of the demonstrators here is if there's room for FIFA to be in the main square of the city, certainly there should be room for them, too. Teacher protests are nothing new in Mexico and unions here wield significant political power. But with the World Cup fast approaching, the stakes are much higher for both sides and pressure is growing to reach a deal before football's biggest tournament arrives. Julia Galliano, Alazer, Mexico City.
