Mexico: Taking down ‘The Teacher’: The Lumina Foundation saddles up to privatize education in Mexico
An interesting report out of Mexico concerning corruption charges against the head of the Mexican teacher’s union has appeared at Al Jazeera. The report, found below, indicates that the government has arrested and charged Elba Esther Gordillo, the leader of the Mexican teacher’s union with embezzlement and other charges. Known as La Maestra or ‘The Teacher’, Gordillo headed the National Union of Education Workers or SNTE, which is estimated to have 1.5 million members (http://www.aljazeera.com/programmes/insidestoryamericas/2013/03/20133273815849909.html).Whether the accusation is true or untrue is not known. What is known is that Mexico, following the rest of the so-called Western World, is embarking on similar Race to the Top policies that seek to destroy teacher unions and privatize the public educational sector. These include such ‘business friendly reforms’, such as:
- Seeking to introduce merit-based hiring and promotion, instead of
