Government Assault Kills Three Striking Mexican Mine Workers

by Mike Hall, Apr 21, 2006

Three striking workers at the Sicartsa steel mill in Lázaro Cárdenas, Mexico, were killed April 20 after state and federal police moved to evict strikers from the plant, according to reports from the area.

The workers, members of Los Mineros, the National Miners and Metallurgical Union, occupied the plant to protest Mexican President Vicente Fox’s illegal removal of Napoleon Gomez Urrutia from the union’s presidency in February. Gomez Urrutia is a vocal critic of the Fox regime and has condemned Fox’s attempt to outlaw strikes. He also has spoken out about the disastrous effects of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and Fox-backed free trade policies.

The AFL-CIO has urged Fox to reinstate Gomez Urrutia. Today, AFL-CIO Executive Vice President Linda Chavez-Thompson said, “The AFL-CIO deplores the violence that occurred yesterday. The Mexican federal government, and in particular Labor Secretary Francisco Salazar, have contributed to this tragedy.”

USW International Union President Leo W. Gerard said that assault on the union members left Fox “with blood on his hands.”

The U.S. union movement has rallied around the embattled Mexican union. In an earlier  letter to Fox, Gerard said the U.S. steelworkers union would “pursue all available recourse, including lodging formal complaints with the International Labor Organization of the United Nations.”

USW and Los Mineros signed a strategic alliance last year and pledged to defend the human rights of each other’s members.

The USW, the AFL-CIO and other Los Mineros supporters have staged rallies to demand Gomez Urrutia’s reinstatement. The latest is scheduled for April 26 in front of the Mexican consulate in Denver.

For more on the Los Mineros’ struggles, visit the AFL-CIO’s Solidarity Center.

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