PRESIDENT CALDERON ALL BUT EMBRACES OPPOSITON

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 MEXICO 001358 SIPDIS SIPDIS DEPT FOR DRL/AWH AND ILCSR, WHA/MEX AND PPC, USDOL FOR ILAB E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: ELAB ECON PGOV SOCI PINR MX SUBJECT: PRESIDENT CALDERON ALL BUT EMBRACES OPPOSITON LABOR CONFEDERATION AS OFFICIAL UNION REF: (A) 06 MEXICO 5528 (B) 06 MEXICO 7042 (1. Summary: For most of the history of modern Mexico the CTM, (Confederation of Mexican Workers) the country,s largest association of labor unions, was formally tied to one political party. Officially the CTM is still a part of that party, the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI),which governed Mexico for most of the past 70 years. Now however, after the PRI,s second consecutive loss of a president election, the CTM has moved to establish a close working relationship with the PAN (National Action Party) government of Mexican President, Felipe Calderon. On February 24, the CTM invited President Calderon to address the representatives of the labor confederation as the guest of honor at national general assembly. During the general assembly both Calderon and the national leader of the CTM, while acknowledging their allegiance to different political parties, nevertheless committed themselves to working together for a common good. Speaking in grand phrases, Calderon promised to work tirelessly to improve employment opportunities for Mexican workers, but steered clear of committing himself to specific items on labor,s legislative agenda. For his part, the CTM leader expressed concern for the problems facing Mexico but pointedly avoided any statements that might create problems for Calderon. After the event, an observer from Mexico,s third major party characterized the assembly as a Calderon/CTM love fest and said it proved that the PRI affiliated confederation is once again the government,s official union. End Summary. THE OFFICIAL UNION OF THE FORMER RULING PARTY -------------- ¶2. Until relatively recently, and for most of Mexico,s modern history, the CTM (Confederation of Mexican Workers) has been formally tied to the country,s Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI). The CTM, which could roughly be compared to the AFL-CIO in the US, is Mexico,s largest confederation of labor unions. Because of its formal ties to the PRI, the CTM was considered the official government union for the 70 years that the PRI ruled Mexico. On paper at least, and by political inclination, the CTM is still an integral part of the PRI. Now however, following that party,s second consecutive loss of a presidential election (in 2000 and 2006),the CTM is moving to keep its options open and has moved to establish a closer working relationship with the PAN (National Action Party) government of recently inaugurated Mexican President Felipe Calderon. THE PRI UNION AND THE PAN PRESIDENT -------------- ¶3. Almost since Felipe Calderon,s inauguration on December 1, 2006, the CTM has done everything possible to avoid any type of gratuitous confrontations or unnecessarily sharp criticisms of his new PAN government. This is not to say that the CTM has uncritically accepted the labor or economic related initiatives of the Calderon government nor has it renounced its PRI roots. However, the PRI affiliated labor confederation has gone out of its way to state that it believes that negotiation and the (more or less) dispassionate promotion of issues is more in the interest of the common Mexican worker in general and of the CTM,s members in particular. ¶4. For example, in late December 2006 a tripartite commission of labor, government and private sector representatives negotiated a minimum wage increase of 3.9 percent for the calendar year 2007. The CTM and nearly every other union in Mexico had been insisting on a wage increase of at least 6-10 percent in order to help workers regain the purchasing power they had lost during the administration of Calderon,s predecessor, President Vicente Fox. When the commission agreed on an increase of only 3.9 percent the labor unions affiliated with Mexico other major political party, the PRD (the Party of the Democratic Revolution), wanted to organize mass public protests. The CTM, however, declined to participate in any protests and stated that it would accept the &ridiculous8 wage increase as a vote of confidence in the new government of Felipe Calderon (Ref B). Moreover, the CTM advised its member unions to view the decreed minimum wage increase as the basis of negotiation and view it as the floor and not the ceiling in any discussion of worker wages. MEXICO 00001358 002 OF 003 CTM INVITES CALDERON TO ITS NATIONAL ASSEMBLY -------------- ¶5. The most dramatic gesture to date that the CTM has made to Felipe Calderon was to invite him to address its 129th Ordinary General Assembly on February 24. Unquestionably the main events of the February 24 General Assembly were the arrival of President Calderon and speeches given by him and CTM national leader Joaquin Gamboa Pascoe. Prior to the arrival of Calderon, Gamboa urged the CTM members at the assembly to treat the President with respect and that is exactly what they did. Many of the CTM representatives (especially those from northern Mexico where the PAN is particularly strong) gave Calderon a standing ovation and cheered him with unabashed enthusiasm. Media commentators after the event repeatedly noted that Calderon,s reception was in marked contrast to the boos and cat calls received by former President Vicente Fox when he attended a similar event. ¶6. Speaking first, CTM national leader Joaquin Gamboa pointedly reaffirmed the CTM,s relationship with the PRI and then proceeded to offer the confederation,s full support to the government in general and in particular to Felipe Caldron as the country,s chief executive. Continuing on, Gamboa acknowledged the concern of players many in Mexico,s economy that excessive wage increases might contribute to inflation and lauded a new initiative by Calderon,s government to facilitate job creation for young workers called &First Job8 which would exempt employers from making contributions to federal health insurance or retirement plans for newly hired employees. Gamboa concluded his remarks with an overview of many to the problems facing Mexico but avoided laying the blame for these problems on Calderon. He then went into a lengthy aside expressing concern for the problems of public security and organized crime and urged Calderon to be firm in dealing with criminal elements. ¶7. For his part, Calderon warmly thanked Gamboa and the CTM representatives at the assembly for their expressions of support. He openly recognized that he was firmly committed to his own party the PAN but nevertheless promised to work tirelessly to promote the conditions that would enable increase job creation in Mexico. Calderon acknowledged the importance of the CTM as the largest labor confederation in the country and committed his government to opening a new ear with the union and to include labor,s proposal in his plans for governing Mexico. Speaking in general terms Calderon promised to respect the legal autonomy of organized labor unions and to support the rights of workers to collective bargaining and the right to strike. He urged the confederation to work with him to make Mexico a country able to compete in today,s globalized economy but otherwise avoid a specific commitment the PRI labor movement,s legislative agenda (Ref A). Nor did he make any mention of the ongoing effort for a major reform of Mexico federal labor laws. THE PRD CALLS THE CTM THE OFFICIAL GOVERNMENT UNION -------------- -------------- ¶8. Shortly after the CTM General Assembly, post,s Labor Counselor met with a member of the PRD,s National Executive Committee,s labor secretariat. The PRD official stated that President Calderon,s attendance at the CTM event was proof positive that the PRI affiliated confederation was once again the official government union. He dismissed the fact that Calderon,s government and the CTM belonged to two separate parties and averred emphatically that confederation was more interested in once again being on the side of the established power structure than it was in defending the rights of Mexican workers and promoting the interests of the average Mexican citizen. He questioned how the CTM could maintain any type of real union autonomy when it was now, again, so closely tied to the party in power. COMMENT -------------- ¶9. There seems to be little doubt that the CTM and President Calderon both took advantage of the confederation,s general assembly to underscore publicly their intention to work together in a non-confrontational manner. It is probably too much of a stretch to say, as the PRD does, that the CTM is the official government union, but it probably is seeking to have as close a relationship as possible with President Calderon given that his administration and the confederation MEXICO 00001358 003 OF 003 are firmly planted in different political parties. As the largest labor confederation in Mexico (and with a historical role of working hand in hand with the federal authorities), the CTM is institutionally predisposed to defer to the Mexican government. For his part, President Calderon is undoubtedly aware that since there are no unions of any size or stature in Mexico associated with the PAN, his administration can only benefit from a close relationship with a large national organization that is prepared to work with him and give me the benefit of the doubt on labor related issues. Visit Mexico City's Classified Web Site at http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/wha/mexicocity GARZA