Protesters in Mexico on Wednesday stormed a government building days ahead of the World Cup opener, as President Claudia Sheinbaum insisted she will not "fall into the trap" of repressing demonstrations.
A breakaway group from the CNTE teachers' union has carried out massive demonstrations ahead of the world's biggest football extravaganza, which kicks off on June 11 at Mexico City's Azteca Stadium.
On Wednesday, protesters used streetlight poles as battering rams to barge into the education ministry's headquarters in the capital.
Sources from the targeted department said protesters had vandalized a guard booth and shattered windows, while images broadcast on Mexican television showed a small fire at the site.
Sheinbaum said earlier Wednesday that she would not "fall into the trap" of cracking down on protests days before the launch of the tournament, which is being jointly hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico.
"They want us to resort to repression in the lead-up to the World Cup," she said at her daily press conference, vowing not to do so.
On Tuesday, protesting teachers toppled towering statues of football players on the capital's main promenade and threatened protests during the World Cup if the government does not respond to their labor demands.
On Monday, police teargassed a group of teachers to keep them from reaching the central Zocalo square where the "Fan fest" for the 2026 World Cup is under construction.
But on Tuesday, authorities did not intervene when the protesters toppled the five-meter-tall statues.
Sheinbaum has called for dialogue with the protesters, who are demanding a salary increase and the repeal of a pension law.
Her administration has agreed with the CNTE to a nine-percent salary increase -- far from the 100 percent raise the dissident educators are demanding.
The monthly starting gross wage for a Mexican public school teacher is the equivalent of US $967.