The Minority Opinion

Maite Reyes-Retana wonders if the contempt directed at Elba Esther Gordillo doesn't perhaps go a bit overboard:

What is an overwhelming fact is the impassioned hatred that the teachers' leader continues to inspire. Reading what the columnists and the citizens think in the print media, it seems as though Elba Esther were the cause of absolutely every one of the evils that plague public education in Mexico. 

[Break]

...I wonder, if tomorrow Elba Esther died, would our level of education improve? Is the lack of training or insufficient curricula her fault alone? I am convinced that the response to these questions is no.

Our very low educational level is a result of various factors, which involve the union, the SEP, and the parents of students. I don't mean to say that Elba Esther isn't guilty of many of the problems plaguing our educational system; nevertheless, I am sure that as long as we continue personalizing in her all of our flaws, we will advance in our analysis very little. 

That's a good point. The dysfunctional culture in Mexico's public schools goes well beyond one women, and while Elba Esther Gordillo may be the chief barrier to change, addressing that culture goes beyond Alonso Lujambio or Josefina Vázquez outmaneuvering (or not) one woman.