After the education reform of 2013, under President Enrique Peña Nieto, the General Law of the Professional Teaching Service set public competitions, concursos de oposición, as the way into a teaching post. In 2019, Expansión explained what came before. The old system “abrió la puerta para la venta y a las plazas vitalicias, que eran heredadas” (opened the door to the sale of posts and to posts for life, which were inherited).
“Como no había un concurso, no se podía garantizar que quien llegara fuera por méritos y capacidades” (Since there was no competition, there was no guarantee that whoever arrived did so by merit and ability). Since 2019, a unit of the Ministry of Public Education, USICAMM, has assigned teaching posts. On May 31, 2026, President Claudia Sheinbaum confirmed that it would disappear.