Nevertheless, the Coalition has demanded that the bylaw be revoked, the rector resign, and public discussions be held, followed by a plebiscite. The rector is amenable only to meeting with the Coalition. A faculty group has offered to mediate, so far without success. In any event, even many who think tuition is warranted believe the March political strategy has backfired, perhaps jeopardizing certain other reforms of the last decade. Once again, as a decade earlier, a rector's initiative has pumped life back into student activism, which had been moribund by comparison with prior periods.
Students retain the power to disrupt and to block or at least slow down certain reforms.
Now, however, UNAM's political fight is playing out against a fresh background of national politics. Today, the executive branch is just one among many actors, and it is under attack, on the defensive, and vulnerable to a growing popular perception that things are out of control. The minister of education confines himself to lame statements about how UNAM will not be privatized. Congress, once an insignificant player is the forum for prolonged, impassioned debates on tuition. The left has staked out the strongest party position, obviously anti-tuition.