Fidel Velázquez Sánchez facts for kids
Fidel Velázquez Sánchez (born May 12, 1900 – died June 21, 1997) was a very important Mexican union leader in the 20th century. A union is a group of workers who join together to protect their rights and interests.
In 1936, he helped start the Confederation of Mexican Workers (CTM). This was a big national group of unions. It was closely connected to Mexico's main political party at the time, the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI). Fidel Velázquez became the leader of the CTM in 1941. He led this powerful union until he died in 1997. Over time, the CTM became very strong but also less focused on workers' rights and more on supporting the government.
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Early Life and Union Beginnings
Fidel Velázquez was born in a town called San Pedro Azcapotzaltongo in Mexico. His father was the mayor. During the Mexican Revolution, his family moved to another city, Puebla.
After his father passed away in 1920, Velázquez moved to Mexico City. He worked many jobs, including delivering milk. In 1923, he helped organize a union for milk workers. This union joined a large group called the Regional Confederation of Mexican Workers (CROM). CROM was the biggest union group back then and supported the government leaders.
However, CROM lost government support after a political event in 1928. So, Fidel Velázquez and other union leaders decided to leave CROM. On February 25, 1929, they started a new union group called the Confederación Sindical de Trabajadores del Distrito Federal (CSTDF). This group included many different types of workers, from milk deliverers to grave diggers.
Three other union leaders joined the CSTDF soon after. People started calling these five leaders los cinco lobitos, which means "the five little wolves." This showed they were strong and determined.
In the early 1930s, Velázquez became very active in union matters. He helped write new labor laws and worked with government officials and employers. As workers across Mexico became more active, Velázquez and other leaders formed another big union group in 1933.
Starting the CTM
This new union group, the CGOCM, became very important. It led many strikes in 1934. When President Lázaro Cárdenas del Río needed support against a possible takeover, the CGOCM helped him.
President Cárdenas also asked unions to form one big, united group. So, the CGOCM changed its name and became the Confederación de Trabajadores de México, or CTM. This happened in 1936.
At first, there were disagreements within the CTM. But eventually, the different union groups agreed to work together. The CTM, along with other unions, officially joined the main political party, the Partido Revolucionario Mexicano, which later became the PRI. This meant the CTM became the "labor sector" of the ruling party.
Being part of the ruling party brought many benefits to the CTM. Government boards that decided which unions could represent workers often favored the CTM. The CTM also received money from the PRI. In return, workers often had to join the CTM union at their workplace, and by extension, support the PRI. CTM leaders also got important positions in the government.
However, President Cárdenas also made sure the CTM didn't become too powerful. He created separate unions for government workers and didn't allow the CTM to include farm workers.
Leading the CTM
Fidel Velázquez was the organizational secretary of the CTM. This meant he handled the daily operations and built up his influence. When the first general secretary stepped down in 1941, Velázquez took his place as the main leader of the CTM.
In 1946, the CTM officially became a key part of the new PRI party. As the lines between the PRI and the government blurred, it also became harder to tell the difference between the CTM, the party, and the government.
In 1947, the CTM's former leader, Lombardo Toledano, left the PRI and started a new political party. The CTM not only refused to support his new party but also removed him and his supporters from the CTM leadership. The CTM then joined international union groups that were not connected to the Soviet Union.
Changing Mexican Labor Unions
With the help of the government, Velázquez and the CTM worked to remove independent union leaders. These were leaders in important industries like mining, oil, and railroads. The government would often force these leaders out or control union elections.
The new leaders who were put in place were called charros, which means "cowboys." This name came from a railroad union leader who liked fancy cowboy clothes. The government used similar methods to control other unions, like the oil workers' union and the Miners and Metal Workers Union.
Sometimes, workers fought back against these changes. For example, when a new leader was forced on the Miners Union, some local unions left to form their own group. When a strike happened at a mine in 1950, the government used strong tactics to stop it. They declared martial law, arrested strike leaders, and took the union's money. The CTM supported these actions to control or remove independent unions. By the end of the 1950s, most opposition to Velázquez within the CTM was gone.
The CTM was not the only union group, but it had a big advantage because of government support. The CTM used this support to oppose any independent unions. They also made "protection contracts," sometimes called "sweetheart contracts." These were agreements between unions and companies that workers often didn't know about or have a say in. These contracts were often used to prevent workers from joining independent unions.
The "Dinosaurs" Era
Some long-serving PRI leaders were jokingly called "dinosaurs." Fidel Velázquez was one of the oldest and most powerful of them. He also became very traditional and against change.
Velázquez and the CTM opposed any movements that challenged the way things were. In 1968, he criticized student protesters who wanted more democracy in Mexico. The government took harsh action against these students, and Velázquez supported it.
He also opposed union leaders who wanted more democracy within their own unions. When an electrical workers' union demanded more say, the government merged it with another union. Velázquez then helped remove the original leaders, and companies refused to hire them.
Even then, these workers kept fighting. They organized large rallies and went on strike in 1976. The army and other groups stopped this strike, arresting many workers. The CTM approved these actions.
Velázquez was also one of the first to demand that Cuauhtémoc Cárdenas be removed from the PRI when Cárdenas pushed for more democracy. Velázquez called him a radical. Velázquez also attacked the Zapatista Army of National Liberation (EZLN) when they started an armed rebellion in Chiapas.
Velázquez supported government leaders who wanted to open Mexico's economy more to foreign businesses. He continued to support them even when they sold off government-owned industries, which had been a source of power for the CTM. He also supported agreements that made workers bear most of the economic burden, causing their minimum wage to drop significantly. Velázquez even supported the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) in 1993, after initially saying it would be bad for workers.
However, Velázquez's power within the PRI started to decline in the 1990s as his health worsened. In the past, presidents would always ask his opinion before choosing their successor. But in the 1990s, he was not consulted.
In 1995, Velázquez canceled the traditional May Day rallies for workers, threatening those who disobeyed. This was to avoid any protests against the CTM or the PRI. In 1996, some people even held a mock funeral for him.
Fidel Velázquez passed away a year later, in 1997. His funeral was attended by all of Mexico's most important political figures. The president at the time praised him, saying he knew how to balance workers' interests with the nation's interests.
After Velázquez's death, his temporary successor also passed away shortly after. A new union group was formed in November 1997 to challenge the way Velázquez had led unions for so long.
See also
In Spanish: Fidel Velázquez para niños
