The Economist recently profiled Elba Esther Gordillo (“'the teacher’ holds back the pupils“), the head of Mexico's National Educational Workers’ Union, Latin America's largest union with a membership of 1.4 million teachers across the country. Ms. Gordillo's political power, due in large part to the size of the teachers’ union, leads the Economist to claim she might be Mexico's second most powerful leader, after President Calderon. The fact that the teachers’ union is so powerful, however, does not necessarily bode well for the country's schools. Teachers and school heads, as the article points out, are accountable to union leaders, not the education ministry. The challenge now is whether Calderon and Gordillo are able to work together effectively to achieve the President's desired educational reforms.
