Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo, heading the Committees for the Defense of the Fourth Transformation, pledged to protect workers’ wages and benefits, urging them to join her pre-campaign.
“We will advance together to ensure the continuity of this transformation initiated by President Andrés Manuel López Obrador,” she stated, formalizing a coalition with the Autonomous Confederation of Workers and Employees (CATEM).
During the XV National Ordinary Congress of this Workers’ Central, held at Arena CDMX, Sheinbaum Pardo launched the Labor Defense Committees of the 4T, with representatives from all 31 states of the Republic, emphasizing:
“This broad coalition is united by the primary objective of advancing the Fourth Transformation and fostering unity among the people to reform Mexico’s public life.”
Accompanied by workers from across the Republic and the governors of Baja California, Marina del Pilar Ávila; Quintana Roo, Mara Lezama; Nayarit, Miguel Ángel Navarro; Michoacán, Alfredo Ramírez Bedolla; and Puebla, Sergio Salomón Céspedes, Sheinbaum reviewed the labor achievements of the current government.
She highlighted that President López Obrador’s administration broke a 36-year stagnation in minimum wage, during which previous governments touted Mexico’s inexpensive labor abroad.
“Prioritizing our workers, wages were historically low. President López Obrador promised and delivered, nearly tripling the minimum wage since 2018, thereby lifting labor from poverty,” she emphasized.
She also noted that, contrary to claims by previous administrations, “there is no inflation resulting from the increase in the minimum wage.”
Speaking at Arena CDMX in Azcapotzalco, alongside CATEM’s Secretary General, Pedro Haces Barba, Sheinbaum, an honored guest at the 15th anniversary celebration of this Workers’ Central, remarked:
“When workers prosper, when entrepreneurs succeed, Mexico thrives.”
Former Senator Ricardo Monreal Ávila, addressing the audience, stated, “Dr. Claudia Sheinbaum invited me to this Congress, and it is an honor to participate.”
He highlighted that thanks to the government and the working class under the current administration, the country’s transformative journey continues.
Regarding CATEM, he observed that “with its 194 trade union organizations nationwide, it is a robust Workers’ Central advocating for union inclusion, freedom, and gender equality.”
“We have made significant strides in terms of labor justice in decades,” he emphasized, pointing out that the revised Federal Labor Law of 2019 has led to wages surpassing inflation and improved vacation entitlements.
At the presidium, Francisco Cervantes, president of the Coordinating Business Council, and in a special area, entrepreneurs invited to the XV National Ordinary Congress, such as José Miguel Becos, president of Mota & Gil México; Miguel Rincón Arredondo of Bio Pappel; Guadalupe Phillips Margain, CEO of Grupo ICA; and Carlos Peralta Quintero, CEO of Grupo IUSA, among others, were present.
The celebration featured a diverse array of activities: traditional Oaxacan dances, including the “piña” from Valle Nacional, performed with elegance by women in exquisite attire; mariachi music, poetry readings, and CATEM’s emblematic eagle proudly displayed by leader Haces Barba on his right arm before the audience.
