The weekly newsletter of the Mexico Solidarity Project

Every issue archived online at mexicosolidarityproject.org

December 18, 2024 

Company Thugs: “Your Union or Your Life!”

Meizhu Lui, for the editorial team

Photo: El Blog Del Narco

The conflict between the owning class and the working class is nowhere so up close and personal as in the workplace, and the owners hold all the cards. When the door to your workplace shuts behind you, you leave your rights outside.

The bosses can tell you whatever lies they want — like why unions are corrupt outsiders who just want your dues money. They can force you to sit through meetings to listen to anti-union propaganda. They can forbid you to talk about a union or to hold meetings in the lunchroom. Surveillance cameras are a usual business practice; Big Brother is watching. Worker leaders, “troublemakers,” are fired. The law upholds company rights — the law made by the owning class with their friends in government.

And in Mexico, companies don’t just use velvet gloves that leave no visible marks to suppress workers; they still use iron gloves as well. They have no moral qualms about hiring thugs to quash worker organizing. “Choose — vote for your independent union or stay alive!” Canadian mining companies are particularly brutal; their uncompromising determination to maintain total control is well known.

Today we hear from Jaime Pulido, a local leader of Los Mineros (National Union of Mine, Metal, Steel and Allied Workers), who was lucky enough to have survived the thugs’ attacks. Given the ruthlessness of the Canadian owners, it’s not surprising that they are winning at the Camino Rojo mine. The next question is, do workers have other methods to carry their rights into the workplace, past the figurative and literal guards at the company door? Can international workers walk with them? Can workers of the world unite?

Taking a Vacation!

Friends, it is time for our annual winter solstice vacation, and as we do every year, we will take a 2-week break from publishing the Bulletin. After the Wednesday, December 18, 2024 edition comes out, the next edition will be out on Wednesday, January 8, 2025. Have fruitful, peaceful holidays, and we will see you next year,

all fired up and ready to go!

For a deeper dive into current news and analysis in English, check out our media website. And definitely see the new English podcast ¡Soberanía! (Sovereignty) with José Luis Granados Ceja and Kurt Hackbarth.  They entertain, while dismantling the lies and distortions about Mexico fed to us by the mainstream media.

Don’t miss an issue! Sign up for a free Mexico Solidarity Bulletin subscription.

Big Trouble at the Camino Rojo Mine

Armed gunmen broke into your home because of your union activity. What happened?

In April, gunmen threatened me. They told me to stop fighting for the rights of my fellow workers at the Camino Rojo mine, where we are all members of Los Mineros. I have two daughters in primary school. To keep them safe, my wife and I left the Mazapíl area of Zacatecas, where the mine is located, and moved from Zacatecas to Coahuila state.

On July 12, we went back to Mazapil to get my daughters’ papers to change schools. A truck with six armed men inside intercepted my car. They blocked the road. I got out of the car so that if they shot me, they wouldn’t shoot my family. They beat me. Then again, armed men entered my house on September 29. I was already in Coahuila.

Camino Rojo mine. Photo: Cortesía

These guys are part of an organized criminal group that does money laundering and other illegal activities. It’s local, but it’s part of the Sinaloa Cartel. Camino Rojo hired them to get rid of Los Mineros as the workers’ representative union. The police work with these criminals too. We have no protection.

Tell us about the Camino Rojo mining company.

But now, after finding new veins of lead, zinc and manganese, they say they can keep the mine operating for another 30 or 40 years. This past year was a lot more profitable than they expected.

The mine opened in 2021, and I started working there in May. Los Mineros was officially recognized by the state as the workers’ representative in September of that year. I was elected Secretary. There are 300 employees, 160 in the union, the others in management or working as administrative employees.

Orla propagandizes about its community programs

The company boasts that they are a “socially responsible” business that supports workers and the community. They have some programs for kids that are good publicity — they like to take a lot of photos! But the cost to them compared to what they make is like a few pesos in your pocket.

What was the issue between the union and the company?

In Mexico, we have a law that large companies must share their profits with their workers. The Employee Participation in Company Profits, or PTU, requires companies to distribute 10% of their profits to their workers. Camino Rojo made 10 billion dollars. They were supposed to pay us union workers 500,000 pesos each. They wouldn’t pay.

Mexican workers have the right to strike if they file a strike notice with the Department of Labor. We filed when the company refused to pay us what we were due. But instead, the company decided to replace our union with an outside charro union, one that would cooperate with the company against the workers. They wanted workers to sign cards for that other union and to ask for a new representation election, which requires 10% of the workers to sign. To make sure they got enough signatures, they hired criminals to drive to workers’ houses. Under threat, many signed.

In August, through the labor section of the USMCA, we filed a petition with the US Department of Labor to intervene since our rights were being violated. Our long-time president, Napoleón Gómez Urrutia — who once had his home invaded too and had to move to Canada — helped us with this. The US agreed that our complaint was valid. So then Camino Rojo offered us 70,000 pesos — far less than the 500,000 that we were entitled to.

Los Mineros marks 88 years of fighting for labour justice, democracy and freedom of association.

A new representation election was scheduled for Friday, Nov. 22. Before that, the Canadian Steelworkers Union filed their own complaint under the USMCA, only the second time Canada has filed a complaint. As a result, the Mexican army was sent to protect the vote, and it went ahead as scheduled.

What was the result of the union representation election to replace Los Mineros with a charro union?

Before the election, once again, the criminals showed up at the homes of Los Mineros activists and told them to stay home; 90% of the workers live in three small villages near the mine. So the whole area was blanketed in fear.

At 6:00 AM, the sympathizers of the charro union showed up to push for a vote in their favor. I also went at 6:00 AM and stayed until noon. Six men inside a gray Silverado truck were watching me; they know my car. Three army trucks protected me when I went in to vote. They accompanied me on the 40-minute drive to the border of Zacatecas and Coahuila. At the border, a group of my friends was waiting for me.

Once I got to Coahuila, I was safe because the criminal gangs don’t go into Coahuila. They don’t work for the Coahuila government as they do in Zacatecas — and yet the governor of Zacatecas, David Monreal, is with Morena! It’s not surprising that Los Mineros lost the election, and probably the vote was corrupted.

Will you go back to work? What next?

Canadian Embassy in Mexico

Camino Rojo told me to come back, and they would “work things out,” but I know if I go back, I’ll be dead. I’m not going to file a complaint for myself; the judge is bought. Canada is looking the other way. We workers held a press conference in front of the Canadian embassy, but we didn’t get past the guard at the door. They wouldn’t let us in. They even called the police on us!

The Mexican, US and Canadian departments of labor — none of them has shown the willingness to pressure the company to fulfill their legal obligations to the workers, to guarantee our right to choose our own union representatives and to protect us from violence.

Breaking news: On December 12, the US Trade Representative asked for a new panel to discuss the denial of labor rights of Los Mineros activists; the US disagrees with the Mexican labor department that the issues have been resolved. Stay tuned!

Mexico Could Weather Tariffs. Not Trump.

Writer, playwright, and journalist Kurt Hackbarth is a naturalized Mexican citizen living in Oaxaca. His political commentary is regularly featured in Sentido Común, Al Jazeera, and Jacobin. 

Six weeks before Donald Trump’s presidential inauguration, Mexico and the US are drawing the battle lines for the next phase of the Mexico-US relationship.

On November 25, the president-elect took to his Truth Social account to threaten both Canada and Mexico with 25 percent tariffs starting on day one of his second term. Trump will keep the tariffs in effect “until such time as drugs, in particular fentanyl, and all illegal aliens stop this invasion of our country! ... It’s time for them to pay a very big price!”

The next day, Mexican president Claudia Sheinbaum led off her morning press conference by reading out the letter she’d written in response. She listed a few migration statistics of which the president-elect was “probably not aware”: Border encounters were reduced by 75 percent between December 2023 and November 2024, and half of those who did arrive had appointments procured through the US Customs and Border Protection’s app. “Even so,” she adds, “it is clear that we must jointly arrive at another model of labor mobility that is necessary for your country and to address the causes that lead families to leave their places of origin out of necessity. If just a percentage of what the United States allocates to war is dedicated to building peace and development, this mobility issue will be addressed in depth.”

The text then turns to the fentanyl epidemic, pairing it with a discussion of illegal arms trafficking. “Seventy percent of the illegal weapons seized from criminals in Mexico come from your country,” Sheinbaum writes. “We neither produce the weapons, nor do we consume the synthetic drugs. But those killed by crime to meet the demand for drugs in your country, unfortunately,” are people in Mexico.

Then comes the following thrust:

“President Trump, neither the migration phenomenon nor drug use in the United States will be addressed by threats or tariffs. These major challenges require cooperation and mutual understanding. One tariff will be met by another in response, and so on until we put common companies at risk. Yes, common ones. For example, the main exporters from Mexico to the United States are General Motors, Stellantis, and Ford Motor Company, which arrived in Mexico eighty years ago. Why impose a tax that puts them at risk? It is not acceptable and would cause inflation and job losses for the United States and Mexico.”

The missive — diplomatic, firm, and wholly unambiguous about the potential for retaliatory tariffs — met with a swift response. The following day, Sheinbaum and Trump spoke by telephone, after which the president-elect blasted out a series of posts on his Truth Social account.

He said their talk was productive and ended with a “Thank you!” Without promising anything new, Sheinbaum had succeeded in shifting the conversation away from tariffs. Round one for Mexico.

The world took notice of this exchange. The US press gave ample coverage to Sheinbaum’s letter, and it got favorable reports from as far away as China and South Korea. Democratic Party–affiliated accounts gushed that “this is what a real leader sounds like.” Trump had “bent the knee,” been “outmaneuvered,” or, in a metaphorical nod to Thanksgiving, “carved up like a turkey.”

Take Two

If it seems like we’ve been here before, it’s because we have. In 2019, President Trump threatened Mexico with an escalating series of tariffs if Mexico did not immediately resolve the immigration issue, providing an early test for the AMLO administration.

While AMLO did not agree to have those seeking US asylum apply in Mexico, he did agree to host thousands of US asylum seekers through the “Remain in Mexico” policy. Several thousand National Guard troops were sent to the Guatemala border, and enforcement measures were stepped up, leading to poorly administered detention centers.

Five years later, Mexico finds itself in a much-strengthened position, with significant advances in crucial areas such as energy and food sovereignty that will provide it with greater resilience against any tariff scenarios. Mexico also became the United States number one trading partner. The United States, meanwhile, is weakened on the international stage, in debt and militarily overextended.

With Trump having won reelection (by a slim popular margin) largely on inflation and cost-of-living issues, he cannot easily afford the inflationary pressures that both tariffs and his deportation policies stand to aggravate. For her part, President Sheinbaum enjoys a buoyant approval rating, a reservoir of popular support that allows her to weather the effects of a trade war. Indeed, her willingness to take on the bullies could even improve it.

The pre-announced crisis also provides Mexico with a welcome opportunity to review its trade policy embodied in the USMCA. With tariff threats — and even invasion threats — it may be time to question the wisdom of putting so many eggs in the basket of a declining empire. It’s a big world out there, and Mexico would do well to recall that, contrary to what the US and Canada would have us believe, they are not the only game in town.

Recent news reports and commentaries, from progressive and mainstream media,
on life and struggles on both sides of the US-Mexico border. Compiled by Jay Watts.

Mexican president opens final segment of Maya Train Trains Magazine. In ceremony on first anniversary of initial operation, Sheinbaum says project ‘tells the world that Mexico is a great nation’

David Marcial Pérez, Choque de trenes en Morena: Adán Augusto López y Ricardo Monreal se enfrentan por “sospechas de corrupción en el Senado” El País. Los jefes del partido en ambas Cámaras se enzarzan en un cruce de acusaciones gruesas, que incluyen supuestas irregularidades en contratos millonarios. La presidenta Sheinbaum sale al paso y pide “cabeza fría”.

Mexico City Advances Cooperativism for Social Economy Mexico Business News. Among Clara Brugada’s administration’s proposed measures is the creation of a public awareness campaign highlighting the values of cooperativism, ensuring consistent funding for cooperative projects, and prioritizing government contracts for cooperatives.

Jessika Becerra, Coneval: prevalece pobreza en municipios que no reciben remesas La Jornada. En la mayoría de los municipios de México que no reciben ingresos por remesas, más de la mitad de la población vive en situación de pobreza, revelan datos del CONEVAL.

A strong stance: Mexico's President delivers bold message to Trudeau The Daily Digest. Sheinbaum's firm stance underscores Mexico's steadfast approach in the evolving political landscape.

Diputados mexicanos aprueban primer presupuesto de la presidenta Sheinbaum Telesur. «Este dictamen es muestra de atención que tiene el Gobierno Federal para mejorar la vida de millones de mexicanas y mexicanos que durante muchos años han estado a la sombra de los gobiernos que han beneficiado a las burocracias doradas», declaró la diputada de Morena, Mónica Angélica Álvarez Nemer.

Mexican consulates to strengthen support for nationals in face of U.S. deportation Xinhua. The government will provide contact information of the consulates, so that Mexican nationals can access assistance in case of deportation.

José García Sánchez, Otro Negroponte en la embajada Los Reporteros. Más de un panista estará feliz con la designación de Ron Johnson como embajador de Estados Unidos en México, ya no tendrán que viajar a Washington para quejarse con los funcionarios públicos del vecino país, más conservadores, tendrán uno en casa.

Mexican President reaffirms support for ban on vaping Prensa Latina. Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum reiterated today the damage caused by vaping and said that after the approval of a constitutional reform to ban them, it is up to the authorities to prevent their commercialization.

Alejandro Cruz Flores, Javier Hidalgo: Pilares crece como una opción educativa comunitaria La Jornada. A punto de cumplirse seis años de la inauguración del primer Punto de Innovación, Libertad, Arte, Educación y Saberes (Pilares), este subsistema de educación atiende en promedio a 120 mil personas a la semana, señaló su coordinador general Javier Hidalgo Ponce.

The Mexico Solidarity Project brings together activists from various socialist and left organizations and individuals committed to worker and global justice. We see the 2018 election of Andrés Manuel López Obrador as president of Mexico as a watershed moment. AMLO and his progressive Morena party aim to end generations of corruption, impoverishment, and subservience to US interests. Our Project supports not just Morena, but all Mexicans struggling for basic rights, and opposes US efforts to undermine organizing and Mexico’s national sovereignty.

Editorial committee: Meizhu Lui, Bruce Hobson, Agatha Hinman, Victoria Hamlin, Courtney Childs, Pedro Gellert.  To give feedback or get involved yourself, please email us!

Web page and application support for the Mexico Solidarity Project from NOVA Web Development, a democratically run, worker-owned and operated cooperative focused on developing free software tools for progressive organizations.