Education Reform in Mexico: Is It at Risk?

In 2012, at the start of his mandate, President Enrique Peña Nieto of Mexico announced an ambitious education reform which was approved by Congress as part of a multi-party agreement. The cornerstone of the reform was a renewed emphasis on education and policies to improve the performance of teachers. The arrest in early 2013 of Elba Esther Gordillo—the powerful and influential teacher labor leader—on corruption charges further sent the signal that the Government was serious in its efforts to reform the education sector.

The implementation of the reform has not been without difficulties and conflicts. Just weeks before the mid-term elections, the Government announced an indefinite suspension of teacher performance evaluations. It is widely perceived that this was a measure to calm the fierce opposition by teacher unions. The decision generated strong criticisms from civil society, experts, as well as the national education evaluation institute. In light of the latest events, we will be discussing the current state of education reform and its (future) prospects.

Speakers

• Claudio X. González  (via video)
  President, Mexicanos Primero
• Marco Fernández
  Professor, Instituto Tecnológico de Monterrey

Moderator

• Ariel Fiszbein
  Program Director, Education Program, Inter-American Dialogue