An education conference in the Mexican city of Zacatecas turned into a huge brawl after members of teachers' unions broke out into a fight. The union leadership election event, which took place in a hotel, quickly descended into chaos and there was even a video clip showcasing the mass brawl.
Fifteen people were injured during the brawl that occurred on Thursday afternoon, July 14, the Daily Mail reported from Meganoticias. Educators suffered head injuries and broken noses as chairs flew around the room, with some people kicking and hitting each other during the heat of the moment.
Private Security Guards Involved
Conflicting accounts have surfaced about how the fight started. Members of the National Syndicate for Education Workers, SNTE, reportedly got into an argument with the National Coordinator of Education Workers, or CNTE, who allegedly insulted the other camp after losing a vote.
Another version of the brawl claimed that private security guards that were hired by the SNTE were the ones that initiated the fight. The SNTE reportedly sought the assistance of the private security group to control the conference's safety, Daily Mail wrote from Zacatecasonline.
Victor Hugo Gómez Montoya, the head of the Democratic Movement of Magisterial Zacatecas, or MDMZ, said he was surrounded by a human chain of security guards dressed in black suits after he questioned the voting results and demanded a recount. Montoya said SNTE should be blamed for the riot that broke out.
Videos and photos captured from the event showed private security guards throwing chairs at people, even those already on the ground. One teacher even attempted to placate the people fighting but he was kicked by a security guard. You can watch the clip of the brawl at the end of this report.
Electric Prods Used?
Some individuals alleged that the security guards carried electric prods with them to the event even though there were metal detectors in the place. The situation was controlled when police officers arrived at the hotel and stayed to ensure that the fight would not break out again.
Hours after the brawl, the SNTE stressed that the guilty party's actions are "reprehensible" and that "dialogue is the only way to resolve differences," the Daily Mail reported from NTR Zacatecas.
The SNTE is known as a "corporatist union" and an ally of Mexico's 70-year ruling party, the Institutional Revolutionary Party, according to Waging Nonviolence. CNTE, meanwhile, is deemed as a dissident and powerful union that advocates for class conflict, a usually violent disagreement between the workers and the ruling class of a country. CNTE has backed plenty of the regional teachers' protests in the country.
