Mexico City, June 12 (teleSUR-RHC)-- The Mexican government walked away from the negotiating table with striking teachers from the National Coordinator of Education Workers, known as the CNTE, demanding they return to class before resuming negotiations, according to La Jornada newspaper.

The CNTE has been staging a series of nationwide strikes demanding the permanent repeal of Mexico’s Education Reform law, which introduced controversial teacher evaluations tests.

Luis Enrique Miranda Nava, the undersecretary of the interior ministry, told a press conference, "We had a meeting with the national policy commission of the CNTE, we established a condition, the Interior Ministry will not sit at the table with the teachers until all mobilized teachers are working in their schools. Until then, there is no dialogue with (teachers).

" The interior ministry later released a statement reiterating teachers must end their strike before the government would return to the negotiating table.

Mexico’s CNTE has been an instrumental force in national politics. Last week, during the national elections teachers from the union joined with student protesters to organize widespread boycotts and disrupt the electoral process. Teachers set fire to electoral documents and empty ballot boxes outside government offices.