Unrest Rises at Mexico University : Students Respond to Budget Cuts, Plans to Boost Tuition

Government efforts to reduce public spending are hitting the national university and raising the risk of student violence at one of Mexico’s most politically sensitive institutions.

Plans to increase tuition and fees at the National Autonomous University of Mexico--and to raise admission standards as well--have already ignited the largest student protests in 18 years. In response, the government has invited student leaders to discuss the reforms. The talks are scheduled to begin Jan. 6.

The revival of campus demonstrations here echoes a similar series of events involving similar issues in France. In Paris late last month, a student was fatally injured when police broke up a student demonstration.

In Mexico, two mass marches and several smaller meetings have brought only a tussle with university security guards and a fistfight among some students.

Challenge for Government

Keeping the peace presents a major challenge for the government of President Miguel de la Madrid. The last important wave of student activism in Mexico ended on an October night in 1968 when the police fired on demonstrators and killed about 300 students.

In the last four years, Mexico has been in economic trouble, but this has not been translated into serious violence. School administrators are actively trying to hold the controversy within the bounds of intramural debate.

“This is a university problem to be discussed within the university community,” said Jose Meljem, coordinator of school administration at UNAM, as the university known by its Spanish abbreviation. “There have been some attempts to make this a political issue, but we want to keep it within the university. In no way are we looking for conflict.”

The changes proposed for the university form part of a larger package of reforms, slowly being implemented, that were initiated because of the declining economy. Over the past few years, as government revenues have declined because of the plunge in the price of oil, the country’s main export, De la Madrid has tried to slash subsidies on everything from tortillas to subway tickets.

Largest Latin University

The university is Latin America’s largest. No one seems to know exactly what its budget is, but its 300,000 or so students pay only nominal tuition and fees, and government subsidies reach into the tens of millions of dollars.

“We must make more rational use of our resources,” administrator Meljem said. “Here even Xerox copies are free, and there is a lot of waste.”

The government wants to tie student fees to the minimum wage, meaning that the fees would probably be increased periodically along with the minimum wage. Registration fees for graduate study would be increased sharply.

The university also wants to raise admission standards. At present, a high school grade average as low as 3.0 on a 10-point scale is an acceptable level for admission. The government wants to raise the minimum average to 8.0.

Furthermore, the government wants to improve the performance of students and teachers. Students often take years to complete their work, repeatedly failing and retaking exams. The dropout rate is 70%. Teachers often fail to appear for classes, and many have outside jobs.

The university is proposing to limit re-examinations and to require that teachers teach.

“I think the moment has arrived in which we have to give great priority to quality,” said Jorge Carpizo, the university rector.

Student and faculty opponents of the changes say they see signs of a conservative backlash in the reforms.

“Education policy is becoming more authoritarian, in accord with (government) budget cuts,” said a report from the University Student Council, a main mobilizer of opposition to the reforms. “For the moment, the tonic is always the same: reduce, cut, limit.”

In the 1970s, the National Autonomous University of Mexico, like other government institutions that were nourished by oil money, grew quickly. Egalitarian ideals became entrenched. “Elitism” based on exclusionary admissions was decried.

Now, opponents of the reform contend, the end to virtually open admission will mean that fewer impoverished students will be able to attend the university. Also, the dissidents say, fixing time limits could prevent part-time students from graduating.

Garciela Mancera, an accounting student, said, “This can escalate politically, not just because of the student (issues) but because of the economic crisis.”

Opponents of the reforms are proposing a continuation of low fees, virtually open admission and higher government subsidies.

Some compromise can be expected to come out of the talks scheduled to begin Jan. 6, although the government seems to be bent on raising revenues from the students. And further subsidies are most likely out of the question.