Demanding Justicia: The Justice Orientations of Oaxaca’s Sección 22 Teachers

• In Event: Educators' Responses to Issues Teachers Are Facing Globally

Abstract

Oaxaca’s Sección 22 union chapter has endured waves of political violence and internal cleavages, but the demand for justicia has remained central, driven by a belief that “El maestro luchando también está enseñando”: the teacher fighting is also teaching. This paper explores the ways teachers in Sección 22 engage in justice-oriented teaching, building on research that describes teachers’ capacities to cultivate justice in classrooms and schools. I draw primarily on interviews with 48 teachers in Oaxaca during a five-year period, as well as other ethnographic data, to describe five “justice orientations” that galvanize teachers’ work and performances: economic, political, cultural, humanistic, and syndical. Teachers understand these struggles for justice as a core component of their professional obligations and duties.

Author

• Christian A. Bracho, California State University - Long Beach