MEXICAN PUBLIC EMPLOYEES BLOCK MAJOR STREETS IN MEXICO CITY, 2000-10-26 (photo)

Mexican public employees block major streets in Mexico City demanding a bonus, October 26, 2000. Thousands of public employees, who gross an average $300 a month, were alarmed at a government announcement they would not receive a traditional bonus when the goverment changes hands on December 1. Previous budgets included a bonus, equivalent to one month's salary, as compensation for public employees for their loyalty to the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI), which has governed Mexico for 71 years before losing presidential elections in July. DA/HB