MEXICO CITY, May 18 (Reuters) - Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum on Monday downplayed threats from the country's teachers to stage disruptive street protests ahead of the World Cup, pledging to tackle the matter before the games kick off on June 11.
"We're going to address this," Sheinbaum told her daily press conference. "We must respect freedoms while also ensuring the World Cup proceeds."
Tensions between teaching unions and the government flared up earlier this month when authorities floated a plan to move the summer school break forward to June 5 from July 15 due to the World Cup.
Some teachers accused authorities of trying to undermine their demands for better pay and pensions.
Teaching unions have for years held periodic protests and sit-ins that have forced street closures and caused traffic jams in Mexico City's downtown area.
The powerful CNTE union announced on Sunday that it plans to strike and hold protests beginning June 1 if its latest demands aren't met, while a branch of another major teachers' union, the SNTE, announced it would suspend activities beginning May 25.
"If there's no solution, the ball won't roll," the CNTE said.
Five World Cup soccer matches are due to take place in Mexico City, with others scheduled for Guadalajara and Monterrey. The United States and Canada are also co-hosts of the games.
(Reporting by Raúl Cortés Fernández, Editing by Daina Beth Solomon and Rosalba O'Brien)
