A few days after the 12th anniversary of the cessation of operations of Mexicana de Aviación, former employees of the extinct airline were evicted from the cafeteria that had occupied the space where the company’s counters had been located since March 2015, which remain in the hands Army and Navy authorities.
In a statement, the Association of Retirees, Workers and Former Workers of the Mexican Aviation (AJTEAM) reported that the eviction took place at 2 am this Friday. Around 70 families supported themselves from the cafeteria, which gave financial support to retired workers who had an illness, as well as funeral expenses for first-degree relatives.
The resources obtained were also used to maintain two labor lawsuits that are before the Federal Board of Conciliation and Arbitration and an investigation folder before the prosecution, derived from the irregularities that led to the bankruptcy of the airline.
“The eviction action carried out today leaves us in a totally defenseless state, without resources to support our colleagues and resources to maintain the legal fight,” the association said in the document.
Previously, President Andrés Manuel López Obrador had expressed his support for the liquidation of former Mexicana de Aviación workers. In August 2019, he said he intended to “acquire” the airline, which has some real and personal property, such as a building in Guadalajara and offices in the Cuauhtémoc mayor’s office.
Even by November of that year, a group of workers said they were in a position to help create a new airline.
By 2021, the possibility arose of forming a cooperative for the return of Mexicana de Aviación; however, the proposal convinced very few former workers, since most were already retired or in other companies.
A few days ago, José Humberto Gual, press secretary of the Trade Union Association of Aviator Pilots (ASPA) of Mexico, said that they were seeking to liquidate the workers, but not to lift the airline.
“We call on the president to turn around and see us, since we have owed his campaign promise regarding solving our issue and not allowing the law to be twisted to our detriment,” concludes the AJTEAM statement.
