Aceves del Olmo Leaves CTM, PRI's Labour Wing, After a Decade
mexicosolidarity.com
The leadership of Mexico's largest trade union federation has traditionally, and controversially, been a lifetime position.

This article by Blanca Juárez originally appeared in the February 4, 2026 edition of Sin Embargo.

Mexico City. In the Confederation of Mexican Workers (CTM) , the leadership was traditionally a lifetime position, but Carlos Aceves del Olmo announced something unprecedented: he will not seek reelection. On February 24, at the 17th National Ordinary Congress, the National Committee will be renewed, and since February 2025, the leadership had agreed to “unity” in order to present Aceves as the sole candidate for a third term in 2026. But the situation has changed.

Today, the CTM leader published a letter announcing his decision. “After careful consideration and with full respect for the bylaws, I wish to inform you that I will complete the full term for which I was elected as General Secretary of the Confederation of Mexican Workers, which ends on February 23, 2026.” He further stated: “I have made the personal and responsible decision not to seek reelection as General Secretary.”

He served as a Senator three times and as a Federal Deputy three times. He accumulated 27 years as a legislator, always representing the PRI and elected through proportional representation. He assumed the national leadership of the CTM in January 2016, following the death of leader Joaquín Gamboa Pascoe. Gamboa had led the CTM since 2005, after the death of then-leader Leonardo Rodríguez Alcaine. “La Güera” Alcaine took over the leadership in 1997, after the death of Fidel Velázquez.

Vicente Lombardo Toledano (under the T), a Communist and trade unionist, founder of the CTM (in 1936) and the Partido Popular Socialista (in 1948), as well as the Confederation of Latin American Workers in 1938, which affiliated with the World Federation of Trade Unions.

Fidel Velázquez was practically at the head of this organization from 1941, after displacing, and then expelling, Vicente Lombardo Toledano, who was the founder of the CTM and considered the left-wing ideologue of Mexican unionism, with a vision of union autonomy very different from the corporatism that the confederation assumed since Velázquez’s arrival.

Historical data shows that it hasn’t been union democracy, but death, that has allowed for changes at the top of the CTM, not democratic processes. That, and betrayal. In the last year, various journalistic reports indicated that, given Carlos Aceves del Olmo’s age and health problems, there are internal movements within the organization seeking his replacement.

In his letter, Aceves del Olmo indicates that his decision “is due to medical recommendations” and the need to dedicate more time to his family. He turned 85 last November, and his public appearances have been very few for over a year.

“It seems to me that it has been the great absentee from the debates on workers’ rights in the review of the Treaty between Mexico, the United States and Canada (USMCA),” says Ángel Pazos, Coordinator of Trade Union and Gender Dialogue at the Friedrich-Ebert Foundation1 (FES).

Adapting to Avoid Dying

While the PRI is collapsing, the CTM—the labor arm of that regime, a breeding ground for PRI cadres and a source of guaranteed votes—survives. According to the confederation’s own figures, created in 1936, it represents more than 4.5 million workers in 6,176 member unions.

The lack of transparency within unions makes it impossible to know the true number of CTM members. Although the Labor Registry Information Repository exists, the law does not require them to notify it of their affiliation with a labor federation, so not all of them do.

Some of the labor unions belonging to this confederation include the Single Union of Electrical Workers of the Mexican Republic (SUTERM), with 67,701 members. Also affiliated is the Union of Railway Workers of the Mexican Republic (STFRM), led by Víctor Flores, with more than 23,000 members.

Joaquín Gamboa Pascoe, along with the then leader of the CTM, Fidel Velázquez, pictured in 1990. Photo: Cuartoscuro.

Similarly, the Union of Industrial Workers and Artists of Television and Radio, Similar and Related Trades of the Mexican Republic (SITATyR), which does not report its membership numbers, has 42 sections in all 32 states of the country. And the National Union of Sugar Industry Workers and Similar Trades (STIASRM), with more than 25,000 members.

On February 24, the CTM will celebrate its 90th anniversary. In that time, it has spanned 16 federal administrations, supporting some and adapting to others. This and other labor federations have demonstrated the ability to adapt to those in power, and those in power continue to recognize them as key interlocutors, says Héctor de la Cueva, Coordinator of the Center for Labor Research and Union Consulting (CILAS).

“From the National CTM, we reiterate our support for President Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo in the face of the imposition of tariffs by the Government of the United States of America,” Carlos Aceves del Olmo posted in March 2025, in response to Donald Trump’s threat.

Five years earlier, in 2020, then-President Andrés Manuel López Obrador told the CTM rank and file: “I congratulate you on having the leader who represents the CTM, Mr. Carlos Aceves; he is not old, he is mature. The CTM leader is at 100%.”

This occurred at the closing of the CTM’s Extraordinary National Congress on February 23, 2020. On the dais, near Aceves, was also President Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo, as Head of Government of Mexico City.

Víctor Flores Morales, leader of the Mexican Railway Workers Union (STFRM), upon his arrival at the annual 2013 luncheon of Mexico’s 300 Most Influential Leaders. Photo: Guillermo Perea, Cuartoscuro.

The CTM’s bylaws designated the confederation as affiliated with the PRI. In 2018, that section was removed. However, the leadership, beginning with Carlos Aceves del Olmo, reaffirmed their PRI affiliation. It was also “permitted” that rank-and-file members support or participate in other parties. This occurred when the PRI lost the presidency to Andrés Manuel López Obrador of Morena and failed to win any governorships.

Then, without leaving the party, Carlos Aceves del Olmo broke with Alejandro Moreno Cárdenas, alias “Alito,” the leader of the PRI. The leadership remains PRI-affiliated, and although this labor union no longer operates with the party’s support, “it continues to control thousands of workers and contracts in key sectors,” notes Héctor de la Cueva.

The CTM has shown a great capacity for adaptation, “and we also see that the current government welcomes these old guard members. Therefore, it is not surprising that, despite the labor reform, the crisis in the Congress of Labor, and a new wave of independent unionism, it continues to be an organization with real power,” adds the CILAS Coordinator.

In response, Ángel Pazos poses the question: “What political decision will the CTM make?” In other words, will it reassess the political weight it once held within the PRI at the national level with Morena, now that Morena is in power? He elaborates that this is already happening in some states, such as Sonora, where the CTM has an alliance with Governor Alfonso Durazo.

“The current political situation of the CTM will either revitalize the country’s largest labor union or accelerate its fragmentation,” warns Ángel Pazos. “It is increasingly difficult to build unity in a workers’ organization if it lacks a common vision.”

Succession

“Leading this organization for 10 years has never been a position for me, but rather the greatest honor of my life. In accordance with my values ​​and out of respect for that historical responsibility, I believe that today it is appropriate to take a step forward with serenity and dignity, always keeping in mind the best interests of the Confederation and the solid continuity of its internal workings,” Aceves del Olmo wrote.

Former President Andrés Manuel López Obrador in 2020 alongside Carlos Aceves del Olmo at the CTM’s Extraordinary National Congress. Photo: Cuartoscuro.

In the letter, he instructs the National Committee “to conduct an orderly, institutional and statutory transition, in which the unity of the Confederation, political maturity, discipline and distinction prevail.”

Since at least last year, several names have been mentioned as possible successors. But they are all the same old “bosses,” notes Héctor de la Cueva. One of the names most frequently mentioned to succeed Aceves del Olmo is Tereso Medina, Deputy Secretary General of the CTM National Committee, Secretary General of the confederation in Coahuila, and a union leader.

Other names include Fernando Salgado Delgado, leader of the National Union of Workers in Services and Transportation in General, Similar and Related Trades of the Mexican Republic, and Deputy Secretary General of the CTM. Also mentioned is Alfonso Godínez Pichardo, also Deputy Secretary General of the CTM and leader of the Federal Union of Secure Transport Workers.

Héctor de la Cueva points out that “the war between the factions has been intensifying.” He also speaks of Tereso Medina as one of the “main CTM bosses” who is bolstering his position in this race. “I call them bosses not to discredit them, but because that’s what they truly are. They are bosses of a mafia that has perpetuated itself and whose leaders are in the different factions.”

Tereso Medina, Deputy General Secretary of the CTM. Photo: Guillermo Perea, Cuartoscuro.

Tereso Medina has served as a Senator and Representative for the PRI in several legislatures. In 2022, the CTM lost control of the collective bargaining agreement at the General Motors plant in Silao, Guanajuato. In a historic development for the labor and union movement, the National Independent Union of Automotive Industry Workers (SINTTIA) wrested control from the Miguel Trujillo López union, which is headed by Tereso Medina.

During these months, Tereso Medina has stated that he does not intend to lead the national CTM. On the contrary, he had called for unity so that Aceves del Olmo could be re-elected.

According to Héctor de la Cueva, that is precisely what the “hidden candidates” did in the PRI regime: appear reluctant to seek power and profess loyalty to the sitting president. “They knew that if they didn’t do so, they could be eliminated from the race.”

Angel Pazos believes that a leader is needed—or better yet, he emphasizes: a female leader—”with genuine collective representation. Someone who represents workers with real contracts. It’s no secret that some contracts survived the legitimization process, allowing them to maintain representation and continue collecting union dues.”

Aceves del Olmo ends his letter thus: “I fully trust in the historical strength of the CTM, in its organic life and in its capacity to continue being a pillar of stability, social justice and defense of labor rights, always at the service of Mexican workers.”

The Law Changed, But Did Power?

The 2019 labor reform established, in section II of article 358: “the term of office of union leadership may not be indefinite or of such a duration as to hinder the democratic participation of members.” For example, the possibility of voting by show of hands was eliminated. According to this section, this applies to unions, federations, and confederations.

In 2019, the CTM filed more than 400 lawsuits against the new provisions, which also included the legitimization of collective bargaining agreements (CBAs). Therefore, the labor federation reformed its bylaws in 2020. It agreed to do so at the Extraordinary National Congress attended by López Obrador.

The wording of the reformed Statutes remains ambiguous. However, they indicate that the National Congress is the highest authority of the Confederation and that this body is responsible for “electing, through free, direct, and secret ballot,” the union officials, for example, the General Secretary and the National Committee.

However, although the statutes stipulate that the vote is “direct,” the leader is not elected by the rank and file. Instead, it is elected by delegates who represent them. According to Article 40 of the Statutes, the leader’s term is six years. Re-election is not prohibited; rather, it requires the approval of two-thirds of the votes to remain in office.

Héctor de la Cueva believes that this election process, under these conditions, is taking place under the “flexibility” of labor authorities. This is why the CTM (Confederation of Mexican Workers) continues to hold the majority of collective bargaining agreements. He warns that, despite the labor reform, union mafias, including the CTM, remain present and powerful.

Blanca Juárez is a journalist & UNAM graduate who covers political, labor, social and cultural issues from a feminist perspective.

  1. Editor’s note: The Friedrich Ebert Foundation is funded by the Social Democratic Party of Germany, and carries the reformist line of European Union and NATO imperialism globally, opposing class struggle trade unionism, and claims “that globalization, internationalization of markets and imperialist expansion will allegedly be for the benefit of the peoples.” ↩︎

The post Aceves del Olmo Leaves CTM, PRI’s Labour Wing, After a Decade appeared first on Mexico Solidarity Media.

From Mexico Solidarity Media via This RSS Feed.