In the midst of protests and blockages, the leader of the Guatemalan Education Workers Union (Steg), Joviel Acevedo, criticized Guatemala media.
While the teachers maintain measures against the government, the secretary general of the Steg lashed out against the media by ensuring that there is a narrative that accuses him of corruption, as he said in a video of The network.
During his speech in protests and blockages in zone 1 of the capital, Acevedo said that the media misrepresent the information on the magisterial movement; In addition, he said that there is a media narrative that accuses them of corruption and looking for personal benefits, while the true purpose of their demands is hidden.
The unionist said that Guatemalan media function as monopolies that follow government guidelines to maintain their privileges.
He also denounced the hiring of Tiktoqueros by the Ministry of Education (MINEDUC) that, according to him, receive salaries from Q30 thousand per month to discredit the magisterial movement.
The protest of the teaching originated when the government eliminated the school medical insurance for students, measure that Acevedo considers a violation of the collective pact. As he explained, this benefit was not a gift, but the result of negotiations with the previous administration.
The leader criticized the intervention of the Attorney General’s Office, which has brought before the courts of the pact that he considers illegal or unconstitutional. According to the trade unionist, these actions seek to “get the teaching of the play” to impose a curricular transformation that would include gender ideology, a controversial issue that, he says, is backed by law initiatives presented by deputies of the Semilla party.
They prevent press work
Unionized teachers who express in the Plaza de la Constitución hinder the work of the press.
One of the leaders warned that they will use the Prosecutor’s Office for the Protection of Trade Unionists to act against journalists and media that mention Steg.
“We have also identified them,” said the leader.
MINEDUC states that dialogue continues
The Ministry of Education (MINEDUC) reported that it has not suspended the dialogue at any time with the representatives of the union and said that every Wednesday they participate in the negotiation of the collective pact. He added that this dialogue is in force since 2024.
He added that he has asked teachers to return to classrooms because they affect childhood, adolescence and youth.
According to the MINEDUC, the protesters breach with the current pact by not teaching 180 days of classes.
He explained that the only dialogue that is maintained is that of Wednesday’s sessions, while the National Civil Police indicated that it will act as the MINEDUC instructs it.
He added that until now he does not have orders to evict the blockages or in the Plaza de la Constitución.
With network information, Leslie Sánchez and Óscar García