IMSS workers march in Mexico City for 10% raise and union leader removal
National Protests Shut Down Mexico City Streets as IMSS Workers Demand 10 Percent Raise
Workers from the Mexican Social Security Institute marched in Mexico City and at least 16 states, demanding a 10 percent direct salary increase and the removal of their national union leader, Infobae reported. The demonstrations disrupted major arteries including Bucareli and Paseo de la Reforma near the Secretariat of Government, where protesters gathered to voice discontent with a recently negotiated 8 percent global wage package.
The mobilizations stem from mounting frustration over working conditions, equipment shortages, and leadership decisions within the National Union of Social Security Workers. Disident workers rejected a compensation plan announced earlier in the week by institute director Zoé Robledo, which included a 4 percent direct wage bump paired with a 4 percent housing rental allowance, alongside promises to stabilize nearly 11,000 positions and hire 2,500 specialists. Protesters argued the adjustments fail to address years of accumulated deficits and called for the resignation of union chief Rafael Olivos.
Traffic Disruptions and March Routes Across the Capital
The demonstrations triggered widespread transit shutdowns throughout the capital starting Friday morning. Marchers departing from the National Medical Center Siglo XXI moved along Cuauhtémoc, Viaducto Miguel Alemán, and Eje Central Lázaro Cárdenas toward the Secretariat of Government offices on Bucareli Street. The march of the workers, which started from Centro Médico Siglo XXI, joined the side lanes of Viaducto Miguel Alemán heading east to continue north along Eje Central Lázaro Cárdenas. Transit authorities reported temporary closures at General Prim, Abraham González, and Eje 1 Poniente, prompting officials to redirect motorists toward Balderas, Insurgentes, and Calzada de Tlalpan as alternate routes. Alternative routes also included Avenida Insurgentes, Eje 2 Norte, and Flores Magón. After several hours of closures due to the march, traffic in both directions on Paseo de la Reforma between Avenida Hidalgo and the Angel of Independence in the Cuauhtémoc borough was fully reopened.
Protesters in the capital marched with banners criticizing the union leadership’s handling of collective bargaining agreements. Demonstrators from Hospital General Troncoso stated that despite recent official announcements regarding new medical hardware, daily shortages persist. A tomograph delivered to their facility was secondhand and insufficient to meet patient demand, according to staff statements.
Parallel Rallies Span Sixteen States
Demonstrations extended far beyond the capital, with coordinated actions unfolding in at least 16 states. In Tijuana, Baja California, participants marched from Clinic 27 to Clinic 1. In Chihuahua capital, the gathering took place at 15:30 hours at the National Union of Social Security Workers, while in Torreón, Coahuila, the mobilization started at 16:00 hours from Hospital de Especialidades No. 71 on Revolución Boulevard toward the Plaza Mayor esplanade, alongside gatherings outside regional offices and hospitals in Ciudad Juárez, León, Celaya, Oaxaca, Acapulco, Tuxtla Gutiérrez, and Tapachula, as documented by UnoTV. In Acapulco, the route ran from Regional General Hospital No. 1 to the Section XVII facilities of the National Union of Social Security Workers.
Regional participants echoed the demands voiced in Mexico City, asking for transparent union procedures, an extraordinary national congress, and immediate improvements to medicine and equipment supplies in public clinics.
