BlackPaper, today
CNTE launches strike in Oaxaca; AG summons Rocha and Maru Campos; special session opens tomorrow; Sheinbaum calls for TV Azteca boycott; Brent drops 6% on Iran; U.S. Senate delays ICE funding
Five minutes to stay informed.
The CNTE delivered: 800,000 without school
Section 22 launched an indefinite strike in Oaxaca. 800,000 students out of class. The encampment occupies 15 blocksdowntown; 80/20 split with a contingent in Mexico City (Heraldo Oaxaca).
Demands: 100% salary increase, repeal of the ISSSTE Law, and elimination of Afores pension funds. Governor Jaradefaulted on 2025 agreements covering 13,000 schools (La Jornada).
The national strike on June 1 threatens 10 states and 10 million students. The Zócalo encampment collides with the FIFA Fan Fest setup 17 days before the opener (Infobae).
BlackPaper comment: Sheinbaum can neither crack down on the CNTE nor deliver a 100% raise. All that remains is to negotiate quietly and tolerate the blockade. 17 days before the World Cup, the Zócalo has two owners.
The AG summons and Sheinbaum downplays
The Attorney General summoned Rocha Moya over ties to the Sinaloa Cartel and Maru Campos as a witness in the deaths of two CIA agents in Chihuahua. Campos appears on May 27 (La Jornada).
Sheinbaum said at the morning briefing that these are “interviews” and that “there are no charges.” But summoning a governor accused by the DOJ and an opposition governor in the same week is not routine — it is political calibration (Tribuna).
BlackPaper comment: Morena pressures Rocha and summons Campos in the same wave. If the AG’s officewere impartial, the president would not need to clarify that “there are no political interests.” The clarification is the confession.
Tomorrow the special session begins
Congress opens a special session on May 26: postpone the judicial election to 2028, create an anti-narco-candidatecommission, add foreign interference as grounds for annulment, and expand electoral nullity causes (El Financiero).
Deadline: June 3 — the Constitution bans amending electoral rules 90 days before an election year. The Bar Association: the postponement “does not fix the underlying problems” (El Financiero).
MC accused Morena of “trying to fix its own disaster.” The INE backed it: Taddei said moving to 2028 saves $2 billion pesos. The real savings are political — more time to control the process (La Politica Online).
BlackPaper comment: A desperate move: internal polls already show 2027 losses and Morena is trying to shield itself. Which foreign interference will trigger annulment? Pedro Sánchez from Spain? Cuban doctors? RT and Sputnik? Or only whichever suits Morena?
The president vs. TV Azteca
Sheinbaum said at the morning briefing: “don’t watch TV Azteca.” She accused Salinas Pliego of funding the Mexicanos al Grito de Paz collective, which hangs banners with photos of Morena officials labeled “narco-governors”across Mexico City (El Universal).
She announced the return of the “Lie Detector” segment and a “mythomaniac of the week” award. TV Aztecaresponded with a statement: “a clear attempt at censorship and a direct assault on freedom of expression” (Proceso, ADN40).
BlackPaper comment: Censorship from power. Branding critics as “liars” from the presidential podium is intimidation disguised as fact-checking. Every tyranny needs to silence whoever says what makes it uncomfortable.
Brent drops 6%: Iran and U.S. near a deal
Brent fell 6.38% to $96.93, its lowest since March. Qalibaf and Araghchi negotiated in Doha: reopening Hormuzwithin 30 days, lifting the blockade on Iranian ports, and 60 days for the nuclear track (Bloomberg).
Trump: the deal is “largely negotiated.” Iran: there is “consensus on many issues” but a signing is not imminent. The Iranian parliament threatened to enrich uranium to 90% if hostilities resume (CNN, NPR).
U.S. Senate delays $72 billion for deportations
The U.S. Senate left for recess without voting on $72 billion for ICE and CBP. It was blocked by a $1.8 billion DOJfund and $1 billion for a ballroom at the White House ruled out of order (Roll Call).
Without funding, mass deportations lose their budgetary footing. Trump promised “the largest operation” at the border, but his own party cannot pass the check. The U.S. Senate returns the first week of June (CBS News).
Israel plans permanent occupation of Lebanon
The IDF deployed the 98th Division in southern Lebanon and plans to push the border 10-20 miles north. Ben-Gvirrevealed plans for settlements on Lebanese territory (Al Jazeera).
The April 16 ceasefire was extended 45 days on May 15 after the third round of talks in Washington. Yet Israel keeps bombing: over 130 killed between May 6 and 10 under the active truce (Al Jazeera).
In brief
Morena’s painted walls in Jalisco. MC filed a complaint with the IEPC against deputy Itzul Barrera, federal rep Mery Pozos, and councilman Chema Martínez for painting 90 walls with their names across Guadalajara — premature campaigning for the mayoral race (MURAL, El Informador).
Inzunza skips the Senate. Corral revealed on Aristegui that Inzunza avoids the Senate on the party’s advice to dodge questions. Together they have 112 absences. Inzunza has missed 24 sessions since the U.S. linked him to Los Chapitos (Aristegui Noticias, Diario.mx).
Fertilizer prices +39% on Hormuz. Mexico’s fertilizer imports fell 20.4% in volume between January and April. The price per ton rose from $388 to $538 — +38.9% year-on-year. The Hormuz closure drove up the natural gason which production depends (La Jornada).
USS Nimitz in the Caribbean. The U.S. deployed the carrier USS Nimitz off Cuba after indicting Raúl Castrofor the 1996 shootdown. Díaz-Canel warned an attack would cause “a bloodbath.” The Navy has flown 25 intelligence missions over the island since February (Infobae).
Leo XIV on AI. The pope published Magnifica Humanitas, his first encyclical: 235 pages on the risks of artificial intelligence. He calls for a global ethical pact to prevent AI from falling under the control “of a few” and warns against its military use (CNN).
On the radar
May 26 — Special session in Congress. Four constitutional reforms. Floor vote on May 27.
May 27 — Maru Campos appears before the AG in the CIA case in Chihuahua.
Jun 1 — National CNTE strike and encampment at the Zócalo. Collision with FIFA Fan Fest setup.
Jun 1 — U.S. Senate returns. Vote on ICE/CBP package of $72 billion.
Jun 11 — 2026 World Cup opener at Estadio Azteca.
Collateral damage
Iran negotiates and Brent drops to $96.93 → Pemex earns less per barrel on output of 1.61M bpd already running at a deficit → the electricity subsidy that brought inflation to 4.11% is funded by shrinking oil revenues → Pemex needs crude above $100 to close its operating gap. Every dollar down worsens the ledger that led Moody’s to downgrade to Baa3.
Tourism in Oaxaca loses peak season with 15 blocks shut down. The 800,000 students out of class are immediate damage; the structural damage is that the CNTE proves it can paralyze a state without consequence.