3 November, 2008
Scores of ICEM affiliates have sent letters to Mexican President Felipe Calderóne condemning the Mexican government’s campaign to destroy the Mexican National Miners’ and Metalworkers’ Union (SNTMMSRM), known as Mineros, and undermine the union’s duly elected general secretary, Napoleon Gómez Urrutia.
The Mexican government has colluded with Grupo México to destroy Mineros, which stands out as one of the few democratically elected trade unions in a country in which genuine trade union rights are routinely repressed. Gómez, who exited the country under threats of assassination and arrest on false charges, was subsequently overwhelmingly re-elected to head Mineros. However, the government has refused to recognize the election as lawful, further demonstrating the government’s complicity with Grupo México.
Political leaders in Europe, the US, Canada, and Latin American have also sent letters of protest to the Mexican government.
Two members of Mineros, who have been on strike for over a year at a Grupo Mexico copper mine, attended the ICEM’s Global Mining Conference in August in St. Petersburg, Russia. They gave a stirring presentation of the strike by 3,000 miners and the repressive actions taken against their union and Napoleon Gómez. ICEM affiliates agreed to engage in actions in support of Mineros, and the letter to Calderóne represents a first-step in a widening campaign of support.
The ICEM is working closely with International Metalworkers’ Federation (IMF) and the United Steelworkers (USW) to build global trade union support for the union and Gómez.