Ending the revolution?
Seizure of Mexican Utility Spurs Protests: Calderón Denies Move Is First Salvo in Campaign to Dismantle Trade UnionsUnion members and their political allies filled the streets of the Mexican capital Thursday night to condemn President Felipe Calderón's recent liquidation of a state-run power utility, a surprise move seen by many as an assault on organized labor.
Declaring the state-owned company so poorly managed as to be "unsustainable," Calderón on Saturday night authorized the seizure of Central Light and Power. He also deployed about 1,000 federal police officers in riot gear to enforce his decree; workers from another state-run power company swept in to take over the electric grid and keep the lights on...
The government has long allowed state enterprises and their powerful unions to operate at a loss, in order to boost employment and keep the peace between haves and have-nots. But, at Central Light and Power, Calderón said the government could not continue to support staffing levels and salaries demanded by the powerful Mexican Electricians Union in the midst of a deep economic crisis. It did not help that the company has lost a third of its electricity to waste and theft...
On Wednesday, Calderón, a member of the conservative, pro-business National Action Party, denied charges by the electricians and their political supporters that the liquidation of Light and Power was the first step in a coming campaign to dismantle other trade unions, such as guilds for teachers and oil workers, which play an outsize role in the economic and political life of Mexico...
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Labels: history, Mexico, political culture
posted by Ken Wedding @ 6:21 AM
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Shutting Mexico City’s Power Company Is No Cure for Bad Service
"When President Felipe Calderón dissolved the capital’s money-losing electric company and fired 44,000 workers two weeks ago, he promised efficient, modern service. But across the city and its vast suburbs, the power has gone out for a day or more in neighborhood after neighborhood...
"Whether or not they are driven by sabotage, if the cuts persist, they could turn public opinion against Mr. Calderón’s agenda. He won broad approval for acting against the powerful electricity workers’ union, and many Mexicans now want him to move against other entrenched interests in business and labor that experts say stifle the nation’s economic growth...
"Many analysts say that Mr. Calderón must take on business interests next to show that his move against the electric company was about more than union-busting..."
See also: Are Monopolies Holding Mexico Back?
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