April 23, 1999
By Adolfo Garza
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER
MEXICO CITY - Tens of thousands of students shut down Mexico's main university - one of the largest in the world - with an indefinite strike Tuesday to protest a tuition hike that has ended the state-run school's virtually free status.
The students walked out on most campuses of the National Autonomous University, effectively blocking classes and research activities. They vowed to strike until college officials revoke last month's hike, which raised annual fees from 2 U.S. cents (20 centavos) to about $145 (1,378 pesos).
University President Francisco Barnes de Castro warn-ed his administration would not back down Monday, and called for further negotiations with student leaders.
The university, known as UNAM, has some 268,000 students at 42 campuses throughout the Mexico City metropolitan area. Students have long fought against any increase in fees, which had been frozen since 1948 on grounds that the Mexican constitution guarantees the right to free education in state-run schools.
In 1986, the university backed off a fee-hike proposal after it provoked rowdy protests and a month-long student strike.
UNAM officials have promised students whose families make less than four times the national minimum wage, currently about $3.50 (35 pesos) a day, would be exempt. But student leaders insist their objections are a matter of principle.
``We're not talking about money figures. We are talking about everything the university stands for,'' said Yara Iricea, 21, a member of the students' strike council at the School of Philosophy and Literature.
Iricea said the tuition hike is the latest of several steps to make the school more elitist. A recent decision revoked automatic admission to graduates of the university system's prep schools.
Students and university officials do agree on one thing - higher fees will not solve the school's financial crisis. The government provides 90 percent of UNAM's $994 million (9.3 billion pesos) budget and the new tuition fees would represent less than 2 percent of that.
UNAM officials say government funding has decreased steadily under President Ernesto Zedillo, who previously served as education minister. The government's 1999 budget cut funding even further.
The nation's leading university, UNAM has its roots in the early days of the Spanish colony and has educated centuries of Mexican leaders.
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