Mexico City masses demand: ‘Don’t turn off the lights’

Hundreds of thousands of workers marched from the Independence Column through the streets of downtown Mexico City to the Zócalo central square to demonstrate their support for the SME electrical workers union and to oppose the rightist government’s plan to privatize the public electrical company, Light and Power, and eliminate tens of thousands of jobs.  The Oct. 15 mobilization followed a decree by the government of President Felipe Calderón to privatize electricity on Oct. 10, when he used federal army troops to seize the power plants from the electrical workers. The privatization decree and military takeover is seen as a challenge to all Mexican workers. Besides the gathering in the capital’s Zócalo, there were demonstrations in 10 Mexican states.

Calderón, who is from the rightist, pro-U.S. National Action Party (PAN), became president in December 2006 following a narrow election victory that most observers judged fraudulent.

Calderón has continued the policy of the last few Mexican governments of privatizing the state monopolies that were nationalized in the past. Based on the free trade agreement known as North American Free Trade Agreement, these companies are opened to foreign, mostly U.S., investment as well as to profiteering by the Mexican capitalists.

An Oct. 18 article in La Jornada exposed that the regime had been planning the privatization and seizure of the electrical stations since March using units of the army and federal police.

The SME is one of the strongest unions in Mexico and has been the most determined organization resisting the nationalization of Light and Power. The takeover and privatization of the company not only immediately eliminates jobs for 44,000 active workers and benefits for 22,000 retirees in a country with high and growing unemployment, it is an attempt to break this key union.

Despite the massive support for the union and opposition to privatization among the Mexican people, the regime has said it will proceed with its program.  (AFP, Oct. 17)

According to a description of the demonstration on the Web site kaosenlared.  net, “The numerous contingents of electrical workers and their families, who were booted out on the street with one day’s notice, were joined by men and women from the miners, telephone workers, teachers and health workers unions, from transport and from the universities—some from the union confederations and others independent—who saw the writing on the wall: the government intends not just to continue with the policy of buying off leaders and weakening the unions, but to finish with the unions completely.”

Marchers held placards that read, “Felipe Calderón: Don’t put out the light,” as they chanted, “Don’t pay for light!” Some of the speakers called for a general strike.  Politicians from the Broad Front partici pated in the mass demonstration. This included Andrés Manuel López Obrador, a former Mexico City mayor known as AMLO, who narrowly lost the suspicious 2006 election.  Though he does not challenge Mexico’s capitalist system, AMLO is the most progressive of the major candidates and has the greatest support among Mexico’s poor workers, farmers and unemployed.  Recently elected SME President Martín Esparza has said that the struggle to reverse the decree will continue. The union advised its members to refuse the government’s offer of a severance package.  As of Oct. 17, only one of every 17 union members affected has accepted the package. (La Jornada, Oct. 18).