Bloodshed Feared as Mexican Mine Company Asks Army to Dislodge Strikers

[Omaha Steve]

http://labornotes.org/2010/02/bloodshed-feared-mexican-mine-company-asks-army-dislodge-strikers

by Enku Ide | February 12, 2010

Class war in Northern Mexico, being fought in the Cananea copper mine, could soon turn much bloodier. After dissolving the militant Electrical Workers union in October, the Mexican government is now going after 13,000 striking miners, who are determined to hold their ground—and their mines.

The government is “going to try to take Cananea over by force, to eliminate the most powerful independent union in Mexico,” according to Jerry Fernandez, international relations director of the United Steelworkers union, which has worked closely with the miners throughout the strike.

If this happens, it may mean a bloodbath in Cananea, one of the largest copper mines in the world. Owner Grupo Mexico has declared that “the collective bargaining contract with the mining union from today on does not exist,” based on a court decision designed to break the strike.


Members of the Mineros union march in August to celebrate the birth of their union 75 years ago. Now the Mexican government is colluding with mine owner Grupo Mexico to break a nearly three-year-old strike. Supporters fear a bloodbath. Photo: USW.


The workers disagree. The courts did not allow the union to present evidence, accepting the company’s claim that the mine is inoperable—even though it has plans to reopen the mine as soon as the union is broken and the strikers are dislodged. In fact, Grupo Mexico’s chief financial officer predicted this week the mine would return to production by July.

Given this decision, the Steelworkers doubt the independence of the Mexican courts from the federal government’s offensive against independent organized labor.

The miners today in Cananea carry the legacy of their forefathers who struck the same mine in 1905. The murder of 27 miners that year fed working class anger that led to the Mexican civil war and the 1910 revolution—the centennial of which is being officially celebrated by the government this year.

FULL story at link.

[Xipe Totec]

1. La cárcel de Cananea (The Cananea Jail)

For those who don't understand the significance of Cananea in labor strikes:

La cárcel de Cananea is a corrido written in 1917 commemorating the Cananea Strike that took place in the Mexican mining town of Cananea, Sonora, in June 1906.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PhTCeN5VFII

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_c%C3%A1rcel_de_Cananea