1999 UNAM Strike

1999 UNAM Strike

The 1999 strike at the UNAM (National Autonomous University of Mexico, the largest university in Latin America) had its origins in the January 1999 announcement by its rector that tuition would increase from about 0.02 dollars to about $150 a semester. A group of students declared a strike and blockaded the main campus. The blockade lasted 292 days, during which there were violent encounters with opposition groups and faculty, and the resignation of the rector and the appointment of a new one. Action by the recently created federal police ended the strike in February 2000.