MEXICO: FIDEL VELAZQUEZ'S FOLLOWERS MOURN HIS DEATH скачать в хорошем качестве

MEXICO: FIDEL VELAZQUEZ'S FOLLOWERS MOURN HIS DEATH

(22 Jun 1997) Spanish/Nat Fidel Velazquez, the ironhanded labour patriarch who dominated Mexico's union movement since the late 1930s and helped keep the ruling party in power, died on Saturday at the ripe old age of 97. Dozens of followers gathered outside the headquarters of the Mexican Confederation of Workers- over which some say Fidel Velasquez had ruled in too authoritarian a way since the late thirties- in the vigil to commemorate his role in the meanderings of Mexican politics. The funeral of Fidel Velazquez- who has epitomised the Mexican labour movement for sixty years- was held in Mexico city. The trade union leader was 97 when he died. Often criticised for his authoritarian grip on a labour movement, he usually favoured the pro-government lines. "Don Fidel", as he was known, typified a style of politics that may not outlive him. His body was awaited by dozens of followers outside the C-M-T headquarters where a vigil will be held. Velazquez will be remembered as a kingmaker and a power unto himself in the Byzantine world of Mexican politics. Ten presidents came and went - and he had a big hand in getting seven of them elected - but the nonagenarian Velazquez remained. And although his followers remain loyal to his memory, the pragmatic side of politics has gotten the better of them- they have already decided on who is to follow on in Velazquez's' footsteps. SOUNDBITE (Spanish): "He left our organisation very well set. That's the only thing I can tell you. Q: "Do you know who will take his place?" A: "It's absolutely decided. It's (Leonardo) Rodriguez Alcaine and that had already been agreed that way." SUPER CAPTION: Hector Sanroman, PRI (ruling party) MP and member of CMT. He opposed some of those presidents, but his threatened strikes were usually bargaining chips in the struggle for power within the Institutional Revolutionary Party, or PRI. Detractors accused Vazquez of stifling dissent in the union movement, and during his tenure the CTM, he resorted to violence to break dissident and wildcat strikes. But even his detractors concede his role in shaping the society that emerged from the 1910-1917 Mexican Revolution. Supporters and friends claimed he was a patriot, an honest man, a pillar of the ruling system, a democrat and a realist. He had been re-appointed at the head of the Confederation of Mexican Workers last February. Nearly blind, often using a wheelchair or cane and slurring his words, Velazquez had continued to hold regular press conferences and represent Mexico's workers at ceremonies where wage and price agreements were signed. He began his union career at 21, when he was fired from his milk round for creating Mexico's first milk union. Velazquez was elected head of the Confederation of Mexican Workers in 1941 and became Mexico's most powerful labour leader as his federation grew to represent 11- thousand unions and six (m) million members. Velazquez is to be succeeded in the top post at the union confederation by acting general secretary, Leonardo Rodriguez Alcaine, a leader of Mexico's Electrical Workers' Union. Velazquez is survived by his wife of 46 years, the Cuban-born Nora Quintana, and three children. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter:   / ap_archive   Facebook:   / aparchives   ​​ Instagram:   / apnews   You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...