Miguel Ángel Castillo Rojas, a teacher and member of the Veracruz Popular Teachers Movement, was gunned down at his home in the municipality of Las Choapas, Veracruz. His brother, Moisés Castillo Rojas, who was with him at the time, was also shot.

Both are sons of the state spokeswoman of the Veracruz Popular Teachers Movement (MMPV), Rosario Rojas Aragón and deceased teacher, Miguel Ángel Castillo Duque.

The attack was direct against Miguel, while his brother Moisés was shot when the three armed men escaped by motorcycle from the place, in the La Sabana neighborhood. According to members of the MMPV, the attack occurred around 1:30 p.m. on the afternoon of this Tuesday, April 5.

Local teachers have highlighted the fact  that the mother of the boys, Rojas Aragón, has stood up, as a state spokesperson for the MMPV, to challenge the educational reforms promoted by the Ministry of Education. That resistance has provoked a strongly  repressive state response in terms of repression against the movement, not only in Veracruz but also against nationally organised teachers and professors.

Opposition to the proposed education “reform” is based on the fact that it consists of a change in the labour relations that the Mexican state has with its largest public workers’ union, which undermines their economic position but offers no advantage in terms of quality of education.