More than 100 teachers from the CNTE (Coordinadora Nacional de Trabajadores de la Educación, or National Coordinator of Education Workers) and its Democratic Committee gathered outside the Secretaría de Educación offices in Tijuana on Friday, May 15, to demand payment of overdue wages owed to interim teachers. The protest, held on Mexico’s Teachers’ Day, also called for the repeal of the 2007 ISSSTE pension law and action against bullying in schools.
Unpaid Wages and Pension Grievances
The central demand focused on salary debts owed to interim (temporary contract) teachers working in Baja California’s public schools. Interim teachers often wait weeks or months for payment because their contracts are processed through a separate bureaucratic track from permanent staff.
The second major demand targets the 2007 ISSSTE (Instituto de Seguridad y Servicios Sociales de los Trabajadores del Estado) pension reform law. That law shifted federal workers from a defined-benefit pension system to individual retirement accounts managed by private AFORE administrators. The CNTE has called the reform a path to “poverty pensions” for 2.75 million state employees and wants the law fully repealed. President Claudia Sheinbaum promised during her campaign to address the issue, but the law remains in effect.
A Pattern of Escalation in Baja California
Friday’s demonstration was peaceful, but the CNTE has a track record of escalating tactics in the Tijuana area. In March 2026, the union launched a 72-hour strike that brought 2,000 to 3,000 teachers and ISSSTE workers to blockade the San Ysidro Port of Entry, toll booths at Playas de Tijuana, the Tijuana-Tecate highway, and the Transpeninsular Highway. In June 2025, roughly 300 CNTE members blocked the El Chaparral border crossing, temporarily diverting southbound Interstate 5 traffic onto San Ysidro surface streets.
The union has also demanded a salary increase of at least 13 percent and the elimination of the USICAMM teacher evaluation system. Nationally, CNTE protests have drawn large crowds in Mexico City, including a camp of over 400 tents in the Zócalo in late May 2025.
What to Watch For
If past patterns hold, a Teachers’ Day rally could be the opening move before larger actions. Road blockages, toll booth takeovers, and school shutdowns are all part of the CNTE’s national playbook. Families with children in Baja California public schools and commuters who cross regularly at San Ysidro or Otay Mesa should monitor the situation closely.
This story was first reported by Zeta Tijuana.