Workers Occupy Culture Secretariat, Demand 13% Wage Increase

ByEirinet Gómez

This article by Eirinet Gómez originally appeared in the March 2, 2026 edition of La Jornada, Mexico’s premier left wing daily newspaper.

Mexico City. Workers from the Ministry of Culture, headed by Claudia Curiel de Icaza, took over the headquarters located at Reforma 175, Cuauhtémoc borough, starting at 00:00 hours on Monday, March 2, demanding a 13 percent salary increase.

Valia Cisneros Coss, a member of the National Union of Culture (SINAC), reported that for the past two years, 2,000 workers have been receiving incomes below the minimum wage. This situation, she stated, not only keeps them in precarious conditions, but has also “caused problems with retirement procedures, paying their housing loan installments, and even accessing services through FOVISSSTE (the government housing fund).”

Cisneros Coss pointed out that those affected include administrative, trusted, and specialized staff, researchers, broadcasters, and cultural promoters with more than 30 years of experience, whose salaries are lower than their custodial colleagues.

During the indefinite sit-in, which includes the closure of the administrative offices and the side street of Reforma, the protesters read aloud their list of demands, which includes, in addition to salary standardization, demands for transportation assistance, school supplies, and the delivery of clothing.

Cisneros Coss lamented that the head of the agency had not offered a satisfactory response. “They tell us it’s the Ministry of Finance and Public Credit, or they send us to areas like the National Center for the Arts (CENART), and they don’t resolve anything,” she stated.

She warned that if their demands were not met, they would close various government offices, including Arenal 40, the National Center for the Arts (CENART), Radio Educación, the Museum of Popular Cultures, the Vasconcelos Library, and the Mexico Library. They also threatened to close the Los Pinos Cultural Complex, the National Sound Archive (Fonoteca Nacional), the National Copyright Institute (INDAUTOR), the Hellenic Cultural Center, and branch libraries.

The protesters are part of the Coalition of Cultural Unions, which includes the National Union of Workers of the Ministry of Culture, the National Union of Culture, and the Union of Workers of Culture and the Arts.

The official account of the Ministry of Culture reported that attempts to establish a dialogue with the leadership of SINAC began on March 1st, but no response was received. The account added that “a meeting will be held with the union to hear and address their concerns.”

Authorities reiterated that in the current fiscal year, no worker will receive a salary lower than the minimum wage and that, once the salary policy is announced, it will be retroactive to January 2026.