Powerful union boss may be thorn in Calderon's education plan

[Omaha Steve]

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/world/5800446.html

May 25, 2008, 8:17AM
'The Teacher' holds sway in Mexico
Powerful union boss may be thorn in Calderon's education plan

By MARION LLOYD
Copyright 2008 Houston Chronicle

MEXICO CITY — She has a passion for Chanel suits, luxury real estate and political power play.



She has been accused by some critics of embezzlement and worse — but she has never been charged with a crime. And she holds the future of Mexico's beleaguered education system in her hands.

Meet the most powerful woman in Mexico: Elba Esther Gordillo, the 63-year-old president-for-life of the 1.6-million-member National Education Workers Union.

In her 19 years at the head of Latin America's largest union, Gordillo — an elementary school dropout, college graduate, and divorced mother of two who's popularly known as "The Teacher" — has extended her influence into the highest echelons of Mexico's politics. She has even started her own political party.

She has also gained a reputation as a throwback to Mexico's authoritarian past, when labor bosses traded political favors for power and wealth.

Her support has been seen as critical to President Felipe Calderon's razor-thin 2006 election victory, and he has since appointed her allies, including her son-in-law, to top posts in the Public Education Secretariat, Mexico's equivalent of the Department of Education.

FULL story at link.