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 News Around the Republic of Mexico | June 2006 
Mexico Miners Extend Cananea Copper Strike
 Reuters
| | A Mexican miner stands near mining trucks at the Cananea copper mine in Mexico's state of Sonora. Cananea, one of the world's largest open pit copper mines, in the mineral drenched hills of Sonora, is now in the midst of a boom and is a hive of activity. Driven by huge demand from emerging industrial powers like China and India, copper has scaled heights unimaginable a few years ago and even after recent falls, on some days the copper pennies in your pocket are worth more than their face value. (Reuters/Daniel Aguilar) |
Miners voted on Sunday to extend a four-day strike at Mexico's giant Cananea copper mine until an ousted union leader accused by the government of corruption is reinstated, the miners' union said.
The strike began last Thursday when the union said owners Grupo Mexico insisted miners work on June 1, the 100th anniversary of Mexico's first mine strike.
The union said after the vote the stoppage would now go on indefinitely until ex-leader Napoleon Gomez, toppled as head of the national union earlier this year, gets his job back.
The government and some workers accuse Gomez of skimming millions of dollars of union funds into private bank accounts. But some union members say the government of orchestrated Gomez's removal from the union leadership in February and replaced him with a government-friendly boss.
"The Attorney General's office is giving false information, accusing Gomez Urrutia of serious crimes that might dishonor him and isolate him from the worker base, something which will never happen," the union said in a statement.
"The decision of Mexico's miners, metalworkers and steelworkers is clear and final," said the union. "Napoleon Gomez Urrutia is their general secretary."
Gomez, who is in hiding, denied last week reports by Mexico's official news agency Notimex that he had requested political asylum in Canada. |
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