Day 628 — CNTE Teachers' Strike Ends After 20 Days; Union Returns to Classrooms Without Reversal of 2007 ISSSTE Pension Law

On June 21, 2026 (Day 628, Saturday), the CNTE national teachers' union formally ended its 20-day national strike, which had shut down classrooms across 29 states, blockaded the Zócalo in Mexico City, and threatened disruptions of FIFA World Cup 2026 events including the June 11 opening match at Estadio Azteca. CNTE representative Pedro Hernández announced the end of the action, stating: 'Today, we are returning to our classrooms because we intend to honor our commitments to our students, their communities, and their parents.' The strike had centered on two core demands: a salary increase and reversal of the 2007 ISSSTE pension law, which the Sheinbaum government maintained was fiscally unfeasible to abrogate outright. The union ultimately returned to classes without securing repeal of the pension law, accepting instead the government's proposed dialogue framework (a working table, diagnostic period, and formal proposals process running through August 31) that SEGOB and SEP had offered earlier in June. President Sheinbaum had maintained throughout the standoff that her government would not respond to 'provocations' and would keep channels of dialogue open through SEP and Gobernación rather than negotiate directly. The strike's end came 10 days after the World Cup opener and removed a major domestic political flashpoint during the tournament's run in Mexico.