Peña Nieto Says “No Going Back” on Education Reform in Mexico

Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto said Saturday that his government is open “to dialogue and to hearing different views” with regard to educational reform, but insisted that “the law is not negotiable” and “there’s no going back on what was enacted to improve the quality of education.”

At a press conference during the Boao Forum on the southern Chinese island of Hainan, Peña Nieto said that “Mexico must take steps to transform education and other areas.”

“Otherwise we’ll be stuck in passivity and inertia, which are not going to help improve our lives,” he said, and making use of his trip to the Far East, pointed to that region as an example.

“Asia has developed significantly in recent years…and we have to ask ourselves why Mexico can’t do the same,” the president said.

The Mexican leader made that statement following protests this week in which thousands of Mexican teachers took part, demanding the repeal of the educational reform measure enacted last February.

Some 8,000 teachers from several states in the country staged a protest march Thursday from the Zocalo, the main square of the Mexican capital, to the Interior Ministry.

In some cases the protests ended in clashes with the police.

Published in Latino Daily News