Demetrio Vallejo
Encyclopedia
Demetrio Vallejo was a railroad worker and union activist from Tehuantepec
, Oaxaca
, Mexico
. Vallejo began working as a railroad employee in 1928, later joining the Partido Comunista Mexicano
(PCM) in 1934. Vallejo was eventually promoted to Regional Director of the PCM in Oaxaca, however later expelled in 1946. In 1946, Vallejo joined the Unified Socialist Action and later the Mexican Worker-Peasant Party ( (POCM) at its founding in 1950. Vallejo was a primary leader of the Mexican railroad strikes of 1958–59.
, beginning at 2 hours in length, then expanding up to 8 hours, before finally calling a general strike
. The STFRM followed Vallejo's call for higher wages, an increase of 350 pesos a month, this became known as "Plan of the Southeast." The strikes were supported by the workers, however failed to gain support of its own union leader, Ortega Hernandez. The strikes began as the demands were not met. On June 26, 1958, the first strike lasted 2 hours and was participated in by almost 60,000 members. The following day on June 27, a 4 hour strike was held, and on June 28, a 6 hour strike. The strike on June 28 was not only of railroad workers, but found the support of petroleum
workers, teachers
, and students. President Adolfo Ruiz Cortines
stepped in before the final steps of strike escalation. Cortines proposed a middle ground between the offer of the railroad, 200 pesos, and the lowered demand by the union of 250 pesos, settling on 215 pesos which was accepted by all parties.
On July 12, 1958, the Sixth Extraordinary General Union Convention met and elected Vallejo to the position of General Secretary
or the National Railroad Council. The Secretary of Labor, and the company under which the workers operated, refused to accept Vallejo to the position. The Ministry of Interior demanded the previous leaders be reinstated, effectively overruling the convention vote. In defiance of the ruling, the workers called for a strike on July 31, 1958. The strike lasted 2 hours and was supported by the Electrical Workers Union (SME) and members of the teachers union. The government responded to the strikes, on August 3, 1958, police were sent in to seize the Railroad Workers' union halls and arrest dissident members. The government followed the raids with a proposal to the workers, a bonus and raise if they would return to work. The workers did not accept and on August 6, 1958 the government agreed to hold new elections for the position of General Secretary. Of 100,000 workers who were eligible to vote, about 60,000 cast votes with the final tally as 59,749 votes for Vallejo and 9 votes for the government candidate.
Vallejo went on to present a plan to assist the railroad's financial standing. The plan consisted of raising rates and terminating subsidies
given to United States
mining and metal companies. It was believed these changes would then permit the railroad to raise wages for its workers and provide better working conditions. The plan was not actioned, and on March 25, 1959, another strike was called. In response President Adolfo López Mateos
declared state seizure of the railroad industry. In the following days several workers would be killed as police broke up protests with tear gas and clubs, approximately 10,000 workers fired, and 800 prisoners taken, 150 of those accused of being communist agitators. Historians document the real number of arrested at 3,039 with 2,600 being released, 500 being tried in court. Of those arrested, Vallejo was sentenced to 11 years and 4 months in prison for sedition, in addition to another 5 years for another offense. The government alleged Vallejo was a communist, of which he claims to have left the party in 1946, and that he had plotted the strikes with members of the Soviet embassy
in Mexico City
, the military attaché
and the second secretary
, who were later removed from the country.
, Vallejo began a hunger strike
, students from National Autonomous University of Mexico
(UNAM) began their own as a sign of solidarity. In July 1970 Vallejo was released from prison due to the law of social dissolution being repealed by then president Gustavo Díaz Ordaz
. Upon release from prison, Vallejo did not rejoin the National Railroad Council, instead he organized his own group, the Railwaymen's Union Movement (MSF) and in 1974, Vallejo co-founded the Mexican Workers' Party
(PMT).
Tehuantepec
Tehuantepec is a city and municipality in the southeast of the Mexican state of Oaxaca. It is part of the Tehuantepec District in the west of the Istmo Region. The area was important in pre Hispanic period as part of a trade route that connected Central America with what is now the center of...
, Oaxaca
Oaxaca
Oaxaca , , officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Oaxaca is one of the 31 states which, along with the Federal District, comprise the 32 federative entities of Mexico. It is divided into 571 municipalities; of which 418 are governed by the system of customs and traditions...
, Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
. Vallejo began working as a railroad employee in 1928, later joining the Partido Comunista Mexicano
Mexican Communist Party
The Mexican Communist Party was a communist party in Mexico. It was founded in 1911 as the Socialist Workers' Party by Manabendra Nath Roy, a left-wing Indian intellectual. The PSO changed its name to the Mexican Communist Party in November 1919 following the Bolshevik Revolution in Russia...
(PCM) in 1934. Vallejo was eventually promoted to Regional Director of the PCM in Oaxaca, however later expelled in 1946. In 1946, Vallejo joined the Unified Socialist Action and later the Mexican Worker-Peasant Party ( (POCM) at its founding in 1950. Vallejo was a primary leader of the Mexican railroad strikes of 1958–59.
Foundation
On June 26, 1958, the Union of Railroad Workers of the Mexican Republic (STFRM) Local 13 of Matias Romero, Oaxaca, began a series of escalating strikesStrike action
Strike action, also called labour strike, on strike, greve , or simply strike, is a work stoppage caused by the mass refusal of employees to work. A strike usually takes place in response to employee grievances. Strikes became important during the industrial revolution, when mass labour became...
, beginning at 2 hours in length, then expanding up to 8 hours, before finally calling a general strike
General strike
A general strike is a strike action by a critical mass of the labour force in a city, region, or country. While a general strike can be for political goals, economic goals, or both, it tends to gain its momentum from the ideological or class sympathies of the participants...
. The STFRM followed Vallejo's call for higher wages, an increase of 350 pesos a month, this became known as "Plan of the Southeast." The strikes were supported by the workers, however failed to gain support of its own union leader, Ortega Hernandez. The strikes began as the demands were not met. On June 26, 1958, the first strike lasted 2 hours and was participated in by almost 60,000 members. The following day on June 27, a 4 hour strike was held, and on June 28, a 6 hour strike. The strike on June 28 was not only of railroad workers, but found the support of petroleum
Petroleum
Petroleum or crude oil is a naturally occurring, flammable liquid consisting of a complex mixture of hydrocarbons of various molecular weights and other liquid organic compounds, that are found in geologic formations beneath the Earth's surface. Petroleum is recovered mostly through oil drilling...
workers, teachers
Teachers
Teachers may refer to:* Teachers, people who provide schooling for pupils and students* Teachers , one of the five Ascension Gift Ministries* Teachers , a British sitcom* Teachers Teachers may refer to:* Teachers, people who provide schooling for pupils and students* Teachers (ministry), one of the...
, and students. President Adolfo Ruiz Cortines
Adolfo Ruiz Cortines
Adolfo Ruiz Cortines was President of Mexico from 1952 to 1958, representing the Institutional Revolutionary Party he was one of the oldest presidents of Mexico...
stepped in before the final steps of strike escalation. Cortines proposed a middle ground between the offer of the railroad, 200 pesos, and the lowered demand by the union of 250 pesos, settling on 215 pesos which was accepted by all parties.
On July 12, 1958, the Sixth Extraordinary General Union Convention met and elected Vallejo to the position of General Secretary
General Secretary
The office of general secretary is staffed by the chief officer of:*The General Secretariat for Macedonia and Thrace, a government agency for the Greek regions of Macedonia and Thrace...
or the National Railroad Council. The Secretary of Labor, and the company under which the workers operated, refused to accept Vallejo to the position. The Ministry of Interior demanded the previous leaders be reinstated, effectively overruling the convention vote. In defiance of the ruling, the workers called for a strike on July 31, 1958. The strike lasted 2 hours and was supported by the Electrical Workers Union (SME) and members of the teachers union. The government responded to the strikes, on August 3, 1958, police were sent in to seize the Railroad Workers' union halls and arrest dissident members. The government followed the raids with a proposal to the workers, a bonus and raise if they would return to work. The workers did not accept and on August 6, 1958 the government agreed to hold new elections for the position of General Secretary. Of 100,000 workers who were eligible to vote, about 60,000 cast votes with the final tally as 59,749 votes for Vallejo and 9 votes for the government candidate.
General Secretary
As General Secretary, Vallejo renounced his salary of 20,000 pesos a month, a sum due to him by law. Vallejo requested the salary be turned over to the railway union treasury. In 1959, workers at Terminal del Valle de Mexico offered to purchase a house for Vallejo, he refused, requesting they instead use the money for a monument to commemorate the struggle of strikes of August 1958, their first victorious strike.Vallejo went on to present a plan to assist the railroad's financial standing. The plan consisted of raising rates and terminating subsidies
Subsidy
A subsidy is an assistance paid to a business or economic sector. Most subsidies are made by the government to producers or distributors in an industry to prevent the decline of that industry or an increase in the prices of its products or simply to encourage it to hire more labor A subsidy (also...
given to United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
mining and metal companies. It was believed these changes would then permit the railroad to raise wages for its workers and provide better working conditions. The plan was not actioned, and on March 25, 1959, another strike was called. In response President Adolfo López Mateos
Adolfo López Mateos
Adolfo López Mateos was a Mexican politician affiliated to the Institutional Revolutionary Party who served as President of Mexico from 1958 to 1964...
declared state seizure of the railroad industry. In the following days several workers would be killed as police broke up protests with tear gas and clubs, approximately 10,000 workers fired, and 800 prisoners taken, 150 of those accused of being communist agitators. Historians document the real number of arrested at 3,039 with 2,600 being released, 500 being tried in court. Of those arrested, Vallejo was sentenced to 11 years and 4 months in prison for sedition, in addition to another 5 years for another offense. The government alleged Vallejo was a communist, of which he claims to have left the party in 1946, and that he had plotted the strikes with members of the Soviet embassy
Diplomatic mission
A diplomatic mission is a group of people from one state or an international inter-governmental organisation present in another state to represent the sending state/organisation in the receiving state...
in Mexico City
Mexico City
Mexico City is the Federal District , capital of Mexico and seat of the federal powers of the Mexican Union. It is a federal entity within Mexico which is not part of any one of the 31 Mexican states but belongs to the federation as a whole...
, the military attaché
Military attaché
A military attaché is a military expert who is attached to a diplomatic mission . This post is normally filled by a high-ranking military officer who retains the commission while serving in an embassy...
and the second secretary
Diplomatic rank
Diplomatic rank is the system of professional and social rank used in the world of diplomacy and international relations. Over time it has been formalized on an international basis.-Ranks:...
, who were later removed from the country.
Imprisonment
Vallejo's participation did not cease while imprisoned, in 1960 he cast the winning vote to rejoin the POCM with the PCM. In 1968, while still imprisoned in LecumberriPalacio de Lecumberri
The Palacio de Lecumberri is a large building, formerly a prison, in the northeast of Mexico City, Mexico, which now houses the General National Archive ....
, Vallejo began a hunger strike
Hunger strike
A hunger strike is a method of non-violent resistance or pressure in which participants fast as an act of political protest, or to provoke feelings of guilt in others, usually with the objective to achieve a specific goal, such as a policy change. Most hunger strikers will take liquids but not...
, students from National Autonomous University of Mexico
National Autonomous University of Mexico
The Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México is a university in Mexico. UNAM was founded on 22 September 1910 by Justo Sierra as a liberal alternative to the Roman Catholic-sponsored Royal and Pontifical University of Mexico The Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM) (National Autonomous...
(UNAM) began their own as a sign of solidarity. In July 1970 Vallejo was released from prison due to the law of social dissolution being repealed by then president Gustavo Díaz Ordaz
Gustavo Díaz Ordaz
Gustavo Díaz Ordaz Bolaños served as the President of Mexico from 1964 to 1970.- Political career :Díaz Ordaz was born in San Andrés Chalchícomula . His father, Ramón Díaz Ordaz Redonet, worked as an accountant, while his mother, Sabina Bolaños Cacho de Díaz Ordaz, worked as a school teacher...
. Upon release from prison, Vallejo did not rejoin the National Railroad Council, instead he organized his own group, the Railwaymen's Union Movement (MSF) and in 1974, Vallejo co-founded the Mexican Workers' Party
Mexican Workers' Party
The Mexican Workers' Party was an old Mexican political party of left, that had legal registration in the 1980s, its main political figures were Heberto Castillo and Demetrio Vallejo....
(PMT).