Set Piece. The Mexican Football Players’ Union and the 1971 Strike

Abstract

This article examines the formation of the Mexican football players’ union and their call for a strike in 1971. I assert that the footballers fought to be recognized as workers in a spectacle that generated substantial profits for the organizers but did not acknowledge their labor rights; they suffered from low wages – except for star players – and were denied the right to freely contract with the employer of their choice, among other issues. I argue that three elements explain the articulation of their demands: 1) the consolidation of football as a sporting spectacle during the 1970s; 2) the context of intense union mobilization during the presidency of Luis Echeverría; and 3) the emergence of a certain class consciousness among some footballers. Although they did not achieve their goal of being recognized as subjects of labor rights, I conclude that the union and the Mexican players’ strike were part of a broader international struggle: the contest for the recognition of professional athletes as workers. This research was supported by newspaper sources and oral testimonies from footballers.