Cananea Miners Over 60 Receive Monthly Payments of 9,500 Pesos

ByJared Laureles and Jessica Xantomila

This article by Jared Laureles and Jessica Xantomila originally appeared in the April 2, 2026 edition of La Jornada, Mexico’s premier left wing daily newspaper.

A group of 143 workers aged 60 and over from Section 65 of the National Mining Union received the first disbursement of economic support of 9,500 pesos per month, in compliance with the agreements of the Mexican and Sonora governments as part of the Justice Plan for Cananea.

Heriberto Verdugo, the union’s delegate in Sonora, highlighted the formalization of this agreement established with the Mexican State last December, when the strike they had been leading for more than 18 years was resolved, as it is a measure of social justice.

In an interview, he explained that the support “emulates a pension,” which will be granted to retired miners for a period of 10 years. The first payment included retroactive pay for three months, and the workers received 28,500 pesos.

He said that by the second half of 2026 another group will be integrated until reaching 185 miners in the beneficiary registry, as they reach the required retirement age, and that they were identified as being between 60 and 85 years old.

The resources come from a contribution of 180 million pesos from the state government, headed by Alfonso Durazo, he specified.

The union leader considered this pension a historic event, as it provides an economic income for the miners of section 65 who were left out of the formal pension system, because for years they were not registered with Social Security, neither when the company was state-owned nor later when it was privatized.

Given this situation, he clarified, most workers do not meet the required contribution weeks to qualify for a pension under the 1973 or 1997 pension systems of the Mexican Social Security Institute. However, some may eventually be able to do so and receive a pension.

“Based on the agreements reached in the negotiation commitment that took place in December of last year, this was the solution they gave to the Justice Plan for section 65, they emulated a pension through an agreement between the Mexican State and the mining union headed by Napoleón Gómez Urrutia,” he emphasized.

Verdugo indicated that the formalization of a pension for 53 widows of workers is pending and Grupo México is responsible for fulfilling this commitment.

He also pointed out that the central issue in Cananea is the restoration of the right to work for around 300 miners seeking to reintegrate into working life.