How did SINTTIA pull off this huge victory — with almost no resources?

Javier Bravo: It is a huge victory! In this conservative state of Guanajuato, still governed by the conservative PRI and PAN, a tiny group of workers took on the enormous, well-oiled machinery of these two political parties, local government, the corrupt CTM union — and the mega corporate empire of General Motors. They defeated a many-headed monster!

How did they do it? As GM workers themselves, they won the respect of other workers on the job, and they organized an in-plant organization that was named — with irony — “GM,” for Generando Movimiento, Generating Movement.

Almost three years ago, General Motors fired one of the leaders of that movement, Israel Cervantes, on fake grounds. The timing could hardly have been more suspicious: right after Israel led an action in solidarity with striking UAW GM workers in the US. Last week, international union representatives from Brazil, Canada, and the US, among other countries, repaid that kind of international solidarity. They traveled to México to ensure, as observers, a fair election during the February 1 and 2 balloting.

Before the balloting, during most of the campaign, SINTTIA didn’t even have a printer. Just recently a friend of mine, a local Morena representative, bought one for them. But the SINTTIA activists used social media — WhatsApp, Facebook, Instagram — very effectively.

Their movement organized first against the old CTM contract. Last August, after the uncovering of fraud by the CTM in a contract ratification vote and the ordering of a revote, SINTTIA succeeded in getting a majority to reject that phony charro contract.

Just a few days before this election, three strangers showed up at the home of SINTTIA general secretary Alejandra Morales and told her not to show up at the plant “or else.” Did General Motors or the local government take any action to protect her?

No. But other workers are keeping watch over her, her child, and her home. Alejandra refused to be intimidated and instead spoke out. The threat backfired. Anger at her intimidation built support for SINTTIA. And now that SINTTIA has won, I believe she’s safer. The federal and local governments and GM management have all validated the vote. The margin of victory was far too big to be challenged, and now many eyes are watching her.

How has the general public in the communities around Silao responded to this victory?

Unfortunately, I see little visible public enthusiasm for this victory. In the large nearby city of Léon, a proletarian city with Coca-Cola, shoe manufacturers, and other factories, one third of local workers go without any contracts at all. Millions of Mexicans would be happy about the Silao vote, but simply don’t know anything about this decisive moment for independent unionism.

What strikes you the most about this victory?

I was crying with happiness after I heard the news! I’m happy mostly for the auto worker families. I visited their homes. They live in insulting conditions. Poor lighting and ventilation, lack of sanitation, deteriorated furniture, nothing of beauty. They can’t afford cars. It’s like working in a diamond mine: You know the immense value of what you produce, but you cannot dream of actually owning something that you make.

But this election marks the beginning of a new day, and now onto the contract talks. I expect that SINTTIA will be fighting to win more time for workers to spend with their families. Right now, they work 12-hour shifts that benefit only GM’s production schedule. Being poor is like being half-dead. I hope the GM workers will finally be able to live with dignity. With SINTTIA, these workers have the flag of history in their hands.