Students' resistance movement at Preparatoria 5 and 6 of Universidad Nacional Autonoma de México, 2005

Student’s Resistance Movement at Preparatoria 5 and 6 from Universidad Nacional Autonoma de México, 2005

Behind many years of abuse and institutionalized felony by criminal groups commonly known as “porros” inside the public High schools from Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico (UNAM), the students joined with the parents association to defeat those groups. The schools involved in this conflict were Preparatoria 5 José Vasconcelos, Preparatoria 6 Antonio Caso, and Colegio de Ciencias y Humanidades Azcapotzalco. The main conflict started after the violence against a student (Diego Contreras) from these criminal groups in November 10 of 2005 at Preparatoria 6. Then several activists decided to take over the high schools, in order to demand the expulsion of corrupt authorities and several criminals that actually were enrolled as students in these schools.The high schools remained taken by these activists groups for several weeks.

In Preparatoria 6 parents association conjunctively with teachers, confronted the authorities about the lack of actions to end with these criminal groups, and pointed the negligence from the school’s principal Apolonio García Sanchez who was disregarded and later on asked to resign. It was also in these high school where took place the first meeting with the director of Escuela Nacional Preparatoria Hector Herrera, students asked him for more security in the outskirts of the establishment and the restitution of spelled activists.

Students from Preparatoria 5 demanded the authorities of Escuela Nacional Preparatoria including its director Hector Herrera to sign certain petitions, among them, a major control of the establishment’s accesses, the resign of several employees who supported the porros, and the expulsion of those people who struck and assaulted young students.

The academic activities continued in both establishments with the access controlled by students and elements of Auxilio UNAM ( security bodies inside the institution), to avoid the entrance of Porros so they couldn’t incur on provocations. The students announced that they would made meetings and informative brigades to present the reasons for which they maintain the protest.After a long process of negotiations, between Students and Authorities, finally they reached several agreements:On one hand, at preparatoria 6 authorities granted the destitution of Apolonio García Sánchez, as well as the hiring of new security elements to bring more safety, and the creation of a local security council, that would make sure the fulfillment of the agreements.

On the other hand with regards to the agreements reached in Preparatoria 5 , the authorities of Escuela Nacional Preparatoria (ENP) decided the destitution of the private secretary of the director, the head of the legal office, the secretary of support to the community and the academic secretary of the vespertine turn. In addition the performance of the prefects of the establishment would be reviewed and the monitoring of the school will be reinforced. On November 22 of 2005, in a general assembly ruled by students the agreements were signed, at the same time as the high schools’ offices were given to their respective authorities

Bibliography

* [http://www.jornada.unam.mx/2005/11/13/044n1soc.php “Alumnos de la UNAM, carne de cañon de aspirantes presidenciales”] , DEMOS, Desarrollo de Medios, S.A. de C.V, México, 2005 November 13
* [http://www.jornada.unam.mx/2005/11/21/053n1soc.php “Continuaran protestas de estudiantes”] , DEMOS, Desarrollo de Medios, S.A. de C.V, México, 2005 November 21
* [http://www.jornada.unam.mx/2005/11/23/051n1soc.php "Solucion en Pre3paratoria 5 y 6”] , DEMOS, Desarrollo de Medios, S.A. de C.V, México, 2005 November 23
* Revista Vértigo, año V No. 245 / 27 november 2005, Julio Derbéz del Pino pp.26-28.