Mexico City, June 18 (RHC-teleSUR), -- Hundreds of academic, religious, student, human and social rights organizations around the world have signed a document that condemns the “brutal repression” exerted by the Mexican government against teachers who reject the education reform by President Enrique Peña Nieto.

The letter was read Friday during a mass protest in Mexico City, in which more than 14,000 people took part, to demand the president and his education minister negotiate the reform, demanding the release of leaders who were arrested last week and currently face what they consider “wrongful convictions."

The teachers have been conducting a series of strikes since May. They want the government to eliminate the evaluations clause contained in the education reform. However, the government has a heavy hand on its reform and has said that there will be no negotiation.