Riot Police Called to Remove Teachers From Mexico City Square
Mexican police cleared the main square in this capital of educators protesting the enactment of a teacher evaluation scheme they slam as “punitive.”
The operation was launched Friday afternoon after the thousands of teachers, members of the CNTE union, were given an ultimatum by authorities to peacefully abandon the capital’s massive Zocalo plaza.
Although some of the teachers heeded the call, others remained in the square and positioned themselves behind flimsy barricades while waiting for the riot police to move in.
When the officers finally entered the plaza, some people hurled various objects, including Molotov cocktails, Efe confirmed, while the police responded with water cannon.
A total of 31 people were arrested, though apparently none of them were teachers, federal police chief Manuel Mondragon said in a television interview, adding that 15 police sustained bumps and bruises but no protesters were injured.