Mexican police invade UNAM campus

by MC17

On February 6, Mexican President Ernesto Zedillo blatantly 
violated Mexican law and ordered a military raid on the National 
Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) campus in Mexico City in an 
attempt to end the 10 month student strike. Under Mexican law UNAM 
is self-governing and supposed to be off-limits to security 
forces.(1) The proletariat needs to hold state power to best serve 
oppressed interests; the Mexican government has demonstrated that 
its own laws are only applied when convenient.

Out of fear for the public outcry that would result from a bloody 
confrontation, Zedillo sent in the 2500 member goon squad without 
firearms. 632 students were arrested and student-occupied 
buildings were returned to the administration. Most arrested in 
the raid were freed within a few days, but at least 200 were being 
charged at press time.(2)

On February 2, 400 Mexican police and other hired goons raided a 
preparatory school, a part of the UNAM, that was also occupied by 
students. The government ordered the retaking of the school and 
arrested 248 students. The students fought back with rocks and 
Molotov cocktails but were overwhelmed by the police.

On February 2nd, live television footage showed students being 
beaten by the police as they were being arrested. 171 of the 
students arrested are being charged with terrorism and could face 
40 years in prison if convicted.(1)

In response to the raids by police, 210 students who were arrested 
began a hunger strike demanding their freedom and "in repudiation 
of the violation of the University autonomy with the invasion of 
the Federal Preventive Police at the UNAM campuses."(3) Relatives 
of the arrested students gathered outside prisons chanting 
"Freedom" and protesting the government's refusal to allow arrests 
confirmation and prisoner contact with relatives or lawyers.

In the February 6th raid, people unaffiliated with the strike were 
arrested because they were found in the area. Some were released 
and described the prison conditions. One man stated: "They left me 
naked and isolated for many hours; for the youth they were 
tortured psychologically; including inside there are children from 
8 to 12 years old. This represents a violation of our individual 
rights!"(3)

The government has continued arrests off campus. It has tracked 
down supportive students and accused them of crimes; many student 
activists have gone into hiding.(3) Despite repression, the strike 
general council(CGH) declared that the strike would continue and 
protests demanding the freedom of those arrested were immediately 
organized.

Students have been on strike at UNAM since April 1999 in what 
began as a protest of a tuition increase. As the strike 
progressed, students expanded their demands to include greater 
economic equality, student control of the University, and greater 
access to the school.

The arrested students enjoy widespread support. In northwest 
Mexico City on another campus, the Metropolitan Autonomous 
University, students staged a one-day strike insisting on freedom 
of the arrested activists. Students on other campuses were voting 
on joining the demonstrations at press time. The UNAM strike 
committee pledged to continue the strike.(2)

The January 21st government/administration-run referendum resulted 
in a vote to end the strike. Strikers state that the results were 
rigged.(1) Ballots cast only represent half the student body, even 
if the results were not rigged. Students supporting the strike 
refused to participate because the process did not include them. 
The results clearly represent what the administration wanted to 
convey, not a democratic expression of the people.

Attacks on striking students grew increasingly violent in the days 
before the February 6th raid. In response, the CGH called for 
dialogue with the government.(4) But as one striking student 
pointed out: "We cannot have a dialogue with the police in our 
classrooms, with hundreds of our comrades under arrest."(5)

It was inevitable that the UNAM strike would lead to violent 
confrontation with the Mexican government. Economic equality is 
fundamentally opposed to the basic structure of Mexican society. 
As we pointed out in MIM Notes on February 1st: "At root this 
strike attacks the increasing privatization of public institutions 
going on in Mexico. The World Bank and other imperialist 
institutions are pushing for privatization in Mexico as this 
increases the potential for imperialist countries to steal 
resources and exploit laborers. A 1997 memorandum signed with the 
World Bank requires Mexico to modify its offer of a free 
university education to all of its citizens in exchange for $180 
million in educational credits from the bank."

As the CGH said in a statement shortly after the raid on the 
Mexico City campus, "the struggles of our people are a consequence 
of the odious political, social and economic conditions that exist 
in the country."(2)

The Mexican government, a good lackey to U.$. imperialism, will 
not turn over power to Mexican masses without a fight. Those who 
expect to win this battle through negotiations with the 
administration can only hope to gain small reforms while leaving 
the underlying capitalist system intact.

MIM stands firmly behind the striking students in their fight 
against Mexican government repression and in their demands for 
greater equality and control of education in Mexico. MIM supports 
the battle for these reforms which can make the people's lives a 
little better while also illustrating clearly the nature of the 
system that does not serve the peoples interests. We are clear 
that this must be part of a revolutionary struggle to ultimately 
overthrow the imperialist system which controls Mexico and the 
rest of the world. It is this system which keeps the majority of 
the world's people poor and restricts access to education so that 
a minority, mostly concentrated in the imperialist countries, can 
enjoy enormous wealth.

Notes:

1. Reuters Wednesday, 2 February 2000

2. The News, Mexico City, 9 February 2000.

3. La Jornada, 6 February 2000.

4. Strike General Council bulletin, University City, 26 January 
2000.

5. CNN.com, 2 February 2000.