HOME INDEX ARCHIVES FALL 98 SPRING 98 SPRING 99

MEXICAN UNIVERSITY TAKEN BACK FROM STUDENT CONTROL By Travis L. Mason Armed with batons and shields, more than 2,000 federal police officers stormed the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) on Feb. 6 and seized its control from a group of radical students who had held the campus for over nine months. Police launched a dawn raid at the UNAM campus, rounding up 745 student protestors and bringing a dramatic end to a strike that had paralyzed the university since April. The strikers did not resist arrest and there were no reports of injuries. Mexican officials calculated the raid in hopes to minimize the potential for violence, as police did not carry guns and human rights observers went along as observers. Diodoro Carrasco, Mexico's interior minister, said through statements released by his office, that Mexico could no longer allow the "kidnapping" of the nation's most important school. "A democratic society can not allow the kidnapping of its national university," said Carrasco. "The university campus is not alien to the rule of law, nor is it acceptable to turn it into a territory of impurity." Hanging over the crisis was the shadow of a 1968 government massacre, when Mexican soldiers opened fire on a peaceful student demonstration in Tlatelolco Square and killed as many as 300 people. That incident left a scar on Mexican history, and the idea of liberating the campus with force seemed to paralyze the college administration and government. Their unwillingness to act decisively prodded the students, who hardened their positions, changed their demands and rebuffed most attempts to comprise. The strike and campus occupation began when the head of the university, Franciscio Barnes, proposed raising tuition from a token two cents a year to $140. The proposal sparked a backlash from students, parents and alumni, who strongly endorsed the 89-year tradition of providing a free education to everyone that could gain admission, regardless of income. Dr. Jose Torres, Dean of Computer Sciences and Mathematics at Marist College, said the reason UNAM's tuition rates are low is because of the economic crisis in Mexico. "Many families are poor in Mexico," Torres said. "The problem is that the poor families can't afford to pay for a private education." Torres said that the majority of families can only afford to send their children to state schools. Because there are so many students, the funds per capita are very low and the quality of education suffers if the rate of tuition would rise. University administrators quickly withdrew the tuition proposal after protests began, but a small core of students still occupied the campus. Student protestors began pressing for other benefits, such as a stronger student participation in university decisions and a relaxation of admission standards. It was unclear exactly when the UNAM campus would reopen and classes resume. Parts of the university were heavily damaged. Windows were smashed, walls were spray-painted with slogans and furniture was destroyed in order to block roads and building entrances. University spokesman Roberto Vivanco said classes could resume after officials cleaned up the campus. It was not clear how many students would show up. Some said they would boycott classes until the more than 700 strike supporters arrested were freed and many other students had already abandoned the university for jobs or other schools. "I think the recovery of the installations is a fundamental step, but it seems to me that it has to be followed by an enormous effort of reconciliation in the university community," said Mexico's interior minister, Diodoro Carrasco.