But students at the university, which clings tenuously to its reputation as one of Latin America's most prestigious centers of higher learning, viewed the tuition plan as one more blow to a social safety net under attack by neo-liberals obsessed with securing Mexico's place in the global economy. The president is following the rules of neo-liberalism where it's not important to raise education resources, but to care about other interests . . . Students began their strike April 20, taking a stand for the right of all citizens, particularly the poor, to a free, quality education. But as the weeks dragged on, with marches and demonstrations that stalled traffic in an already gridlocked city, with the university dropping its plan to start charging tuition and with the news media portraying the striking students as radicals depriving other students of an education, the students have become increasingly isolated. In fact, an estimated 167,000 students finished the spring semester last week, meeting with professors off campus in warehouses, restaurants, bars and churches.
Students remain resolute, however.
Even though little more than sporting events normally take place on UNAM's huge campus in the southern end of Mexico City in the summer, striking students continue to occupy all major buildings, most of which are draped in rain-dampened banners and sprayed with student slogans. At the School of Architecture, about a dozen students have turned one classroom into a living area and kitchen where they cook on portable burners sitting on architectural drafting tables. As they prepared lunch one day, students said their demands include more than tuition proposals. They said they are fighting half a dozen changes the university has imposed in recent years, including limiting the number of years students have to earn degrees and imposing tougher enrollment standards to improve the quality of the school's graduates. In recent times, UNAM, which has produced Mexican presidents and Nobel laureates, has lost much of its luster.