Please find attached some sections from a recent study of Mexican trade unions. This document constitutes the most detailed study of Mexican unions currently available to the DIRB. The book provides some details on the history, organization, affiliations and practices of the Confederation of Mexican Workers (CTM) and the Regional Confederation of Mexican Workers (CROM) (La Botz 1992). The other documents attached to this response provide concise information on the two union organizations or reports of current events involving the CTM and CROM.

The study by La Botz explains that both the CTM and CROM are affiliated to the Congress of Labour, which is in turn affiliated to the ruling Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI). It describes the CTM as the largest and most important labour confederation, and CROM as one of the other important "official" unions (ibid., 40).

CROM was formed by the pro-government labour movement at a labour conference on 1 May 1918 in Saltillo (Mexico), and was led by Luis N. Morones (ibid., 63). Between 1918 and 1925 CROM struggled against independent unions for control of the labour movement. With the support of the government, by 1925 CROM had become the dominant labour organization (ibid.).

CROM lost government support after the assassination of president Obregón in 1928 and the economic collapse of 1929, and by 1932 several unions had separated from the confederation (ibid., 64). In 1993 CROM had its headquarters in the Federal District of Mexico, with 120,000 members and 900 affiliated unions, and with Ignacio Cuauhtémoc Paleta as its secretary general (South America, Central America and the Caribbean 1993 1993, 444).

The CTM was formed on 24 February 1936, after a merger of unions that had helped prevent the government of L zaro C rdenas from being overthrown in 1935 (La Botz 1992, 64). CROM also supported the C rdenas government and became, together with the CTM and others, the labour sector of the ruling party (then named Party of the Mexican Revolution) (ibid.). In 1993 the CTM had its headquarters in the Federal District of Mexico, had 5.5 million members and was headed by Fidel Vel squez (South America, Central America and the Caribbean 1993 1993, 444).

According to the study by La Botz, when the Cold War began in the late 1940s, "the recently institutionalized Mexican labour unions were further deformed by their transformation into huge bureaucracies with corrupt leadership" (ibid., 66). The CTM purged communists, "other leftists and union activists," and simple allegations of communist sympathies or belief sufficed to remove members (ibid.). The source adds that "by 1950, Mexican labour unions had congealed into their present state," described as "institutional unions incorporated into the state's governing apparatus" (ibid., 66-67).

The report states the following:
The various confederationsCTM, CROC, CROM, and othersare made up of their various affiliated unions. These include unions organized on a regional, industrial, or company basis. The CTM, for example, includes both state organizations(e.g. the CTM of Puebla state), and some large industrial unions such as the Petroleum Workers Union (STPRM). Many unions, however, simply represent the workers at one firm or even at one plant. Local unions are usually affiliated either with the state labour organizations or belong to industrial unions (ibid., 40).
Politically, the "official" about unions of the CT form the "labour sector" of the PRI, and thus make up part of the official party organization as well as part of its parliamentary delegation. The PRI puts forward labour union officials as candidates for the Senate, for the Chamber of Deputies, for state governorships, for municipal presidents or mayors, and for many other political offices. In most administrations, several senators, many members of Congress, mayors, and even a few governors have been chosen from PRI's labour sector (ibid.).

The report adds that, until 1991, workers belonging to PRI-affiliated unions automatically became party members. More recently, the "forced mass affiliation" has been replaced by individual recruitment, although the unions continue to be affiliated to the PRI (ibid., 40-41). The report also states that "official" unions such as the CTM and CROM engage in various forms of abuse to ensure desired results in union or contract elections, using "goon squads" that threaten and intimidate workers, and act in complicity with the employers and labour authorities to affect results (ibid., 47). A recent example of coercive voting practices by CROM is reported in the attached article from the San Francisco Chronicle (24 Dec. 1993).

The CTM and CROM also engage in "protection contracts" with employers, reportedly a profitable business that is often carried out without the knowledge of workers and accounts for part of the "gangster character" of large parts of the CTM (La Botz 1992, 55).

One recent example of the "protection contracts" as described in the labour study by La Botz is described in an article published by the Washington Post on 28 October 1993 (attached to this Response). CROM reportedly signed a secret deal with a plastics maquiladora in Tijuana, that is affiliated to the Boston-based Carlisle Plastics company. For more details on the case, please consult the attached article.

On the maquiladoras and possible conflicts between the CTM and CROM, the study by La Botz states the following:
Since the maquiladoras began in 1965,labour unions have organized contracts and strikes, and struggles have been pervasive among the various "official" labour unionsCTM, CROC, CROMfor control of plants in various cities (1992, 168).

The only mention of a recent conflict between the CTM and CROM found among the sources currently available could be a reference to a national strike of cotton textile workers in September 1992 (El Porvenir 24 Feb. 1993). The strike reportedly "fell to pieces with the desertion of the CROC (Revolutionary Confederation of Workers and Peasants) and CROM unions" (ibid.). Please find attached a copy of the report that briefly discusses this strike and the situation of the CTM in early 1993. Although this article refers to a "broken-down CTM," a more recent article reports that there has been a rapprochement between the long-time CTM leader Fidel Vel squez and president Carlos Salinas (Houston Chronicle 23 May 1993).

Another recent article refers to division within the CTM-affiliated unions at the Cuautitl n and Chihuahua Ford Motor Company plants (Excelsior 12 June 1993). However, no reference to CROM is made in this report.

This response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the DIRB within time constraints. This response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum.

Excelsior [Mexico City]. 12 June 1993. Jacinto Noe Hern ndez. "Division Within the Ford Union Troubling." (Mexico NewsPak [Austin], 21 June-4 July 1993, p. 5)

Houston Chronicle. 23 May 1993. George W. Grayson. "If 'Dinosaur' Wing of Mexico's PRI Can Bring Victory, Salinas Will Cut Deal." (Mexico NewsPak [Austin], 10-23 May 1993, pp. 7-8)

La Botz, Dan. 1993. Mask of Democracy: Labor Suppression in Mexico Today. Boston, Mass.: South End Press.

El Porvenir [Monterrey]. 24 February 1993. Jorge Luis Sierra. "Broken-Down CTM Holds Council." (Mexico NewsPak [Austin], 15-28 Feb. 1993, pp. 4-5).

San Francisco Chronicle. 24 December 1993. David Beacon. "Mexican Union Election Falls Short." (Mexico NewsPak [Austin], 24 Dec. 1993, pp. 8-9)

South America, Central America and the Caribbean 1993. 1993. 4th ed. London: Europa Publications.

Washington Post. 28 October 1993. Tod Robberson. "Mexico's Unions at Issue." (Mexico NewsPak [Austin], 25 Oct.-7 Nov. 1993, pp. 1-2)

Americas Watch. June 1990. Human Rights in Mexico: A Policy of Impunity. New York: Human Rights Watch, pp. 88-94.

Excelsior [Mexico City]. 12 June 1993. Jacinto Noe Hern ndez. "Division Within the Ford Union Troubling." (Mexico NewsPak [Austin], 21 June-4 July 1993, p. 5)

Houston Chronicle. 23 May 1993. George W. Grayson. "If 'Dinosaur' Wing of Mexico's PRI Can Bring Victory, Salinas Will Cut Deal." (Mexico NewsPak [Austin], 10-23 May 1993, pp. 7-8)

La Botz, Dan. 1993. Mask of Democracy: Labor Suppression in Mexico Today. Boston, Mass.: South End Press, pp. 38-47, 54-59, 63-67, 72-74, 132-160, 168-83, 188-90.

Latin American Regional Reports: Mexico & Central America [London]. 24 September 1992. "Textile Sector Hit by Prolonged Strike," p. 3.

The Making of Social Movements in Latin America: Identity, Strategy and Democracy. 1990. Edited by Arturo Escobar and Sonia Alvarez. Boulder, Col.: Westview Press, p. 246.

Popular Movements and Political Change in Mexico. 1991. Edited by Joe Foweraker and Ann Craig. Boulder, Col.: Lynne Rienner Publishers, pp. 70-77, 110-12, 215-19, 226-31, 261-67.

El Porvenir [Monterrey]. 24 February 1993. Jorge Luis Sierra. "Broken-Down CTM Holds Council." (Mexico NewsPak [Austin], 15-28 Feb. 1993, pp. 4-5).

San Antonio Express-News. 20 May 1993. Trina Kleist. "Power Struggle Between Unions Hits Monterrey." (Mexico NewsPak [Austin], 24 May-6 June 1993, pp. 9-10)

San Francisco Chronicle. 24 December 1993. David Beacon. "Mexican Union Election Falls Short." (Mexico NewsPak [Austin], 24 Dec. 1993, pp. 8-9)

South America, Central America and the Caribbean 1993. 1993. London: Europa Publications, p. 444.

Trade Unions of the World 1992-93. 1993. 3rd edition. Revised and updated by Martin Upham. London: Longman Publishing Group, pp. 305-08.

Washington Post. 28 October 1993. Tod Robberson. "Mexico's Unions at Issue." (Mexico NewsPak [Austin], 25 Oct.-7 Nov. 1993, pp. 1-2)