Dr. Claudia Sheinbaum, the National Coordinator of the 4T Defense Committees, voiced her objection to the Labor Defense Committees proposed by CATEM during the XV Ordinary National Congress. The congress, held at the CDMX Arena in Azcapotzalco, was attended by over 25 thousand people, including delegates from more than 1,192 organizations affiliated with CATEM throughout Mexico. Dr. Sheinbaum confirmed the alliance between CATEM, led by Senator Pedro Haces Barba, and the Fourth Transformation.
In her protest against the 10,000 Labor Committees in Defense of the Fourth Transformation proposed by CATEM, Sheinbaum committed to continue safeguarding labor rights for the working class and maintaining an upward trajectory for the minimum wage in Mexico.
During the XV CATEM Congress, delegates unanimously voted to reform the organization’s statutes. Dr. Sheinbaum, as a special guest, emphasized the administration’s commitment to workers and the ongoing support for improvements in salary, training, and other benefits, including freedom of association.
Pedro Haces Barba, the national leader of CATEM, expressed gratitude for Dr. Claudia Sheinbaum’s visit and reaffirmed the alliance with the Fourth Transformation. He highlighted CATEM’s role as a modern union in Mexico, breaking paradigms and transforming Mexican unionism over the past 15 years.
Haces Barba acknowledged historic achievements in labor matters under the current government, including the approval of Convention 98 of the International Labor Organization and significant increases in the minimum wage. He credited President López Obrador for putting workers at the center of labor policy and emphasized the need for collaboration between workers and employers in modern unionism.
Special guests at the event included governors Marina del Pilar Ávila, Miguel Ángel Navarro, Mara Lezama, Sergio Salomón Céspedes, Alfredo Ramírez Bedolla, and licensed senator Ricardo Monreal Ávila. Business figures in attendance included Juan Francisco Ealy Ortiz, José Miguel Becos, Miguel Rincón Arredondo, Reyes Soberanis Moreno, Guadalupe Phillips Margain, Carlos Peralta Quintero, Alfredo Domínguez Marrufo, Placido Humberto Morales Vázquez, deputy Manuel Baldenegro, Juan Domingo Beckmann, and Rodrigo Ramírez.
