Union meddling sparks international outrage

In a move that has sparked outrage from workers' unions around the globe, the Mexican government has replaced the national miners' union leader and frozen the union's assets.

The union responded to the deaths of 65 miners with a public statement calling it "˜industrial homicide'. The government responded by replacing Napolean Gomez Urrutia as president of Los Mineros.

A public letter from the US-based United Steelworkers (USW) union labelled the Mexican government's actions as "a blatant attempt to stifle the voice of workers and all progressive unions in Mexico," in the run up to Mexican elections.

The government action came on the heels of a two day strike by Los Mineros which shut down most of the nation's mines. The union protest was spurred by the government's decision to seal the mine owned by Grupo Mexico and prematurely end rescue efforts to reach the 65 miners trapped as a result of the an underground gas explosion. A 7 March demonstration saw more than 20,000 union workers march through downtown Mexico City, accusing the government of meddling in the affairs of the national miners' union by seeking to oust its leader .