CETEG Leader Bonded Out of Jail
(Acapulco, JG 29 October) Félix Moreno, a leading figure in CETEG, the militant teachers’ union, bonded out of jail in Acapulco, where he had been detained since last Sunday. In a press conference, he said, “I will not recant my ideology, nor will I ever abandon our fight. For the rest of my days I am committed to the social struggle, for the people.” Moreno said he had been released against a bond of $150,000 pesos (reduced from $300,000), paid by contributions from union representatives in other states and local senators and representatives.
Upon leaving the jail, he proceeded to union offices of the Acapulco-Coyuca region, where he was met by Gonzalo Juárez Ocampo, the union’s general secretary, together with 70 of the CETEG’s top leaders. “The size of this aggression, the scale of the intimidation, shows their fear of us and the power of our numbers,” said Juárez. “We are independent of the government and of any political party or candidate,” he added. “CETEG has the structure and power to fight for its demands and to confront the power of the State. They wanted to show that they could bring CETEG to its knees, passive and manipulated. Today we have shown them that they cannot.” The secretary general continued, “we have a truce, and we hope they comply; but if they do not, we will return with even more strength and organization, more convincingly, to confront these government policies.” He concluded, “What happened to Félix Moreno could happen to any one of us.”
Moreno then told the group, “If the imbecile of a Secretary [of Education of Guerrero] says that I am dangerous, he will have to find out that others are even more so, like Elba Esther Gordillo or any other [public] servant among us who has dedicated his or her life to making proposals for education.” He warned that any educational reform in Guerrero will result in a massive firing of teachers.
Today Moreno Peralta will have a court hearing involving the government agents who are accusing him of violating the law during the 2008 blockade of the Costera Alemán in Acapulco.
