Now the UPEA
10.23.2003Avenida Arce was closed down this afternoon, after more than a hundred students and faculty from the UPEA (Public University of El Alto) sat down in front of the Education Ministry to protest that their university's not autonomous. This was one of demands made during the last three weeks' protests.
Students cheered briefly when the new Minister of Education (Donato Ayma) came out to speak to them. They also much appreciated that he spoke in Aymara. But he asked them patience, since he'd just taken his post and needed time to work on their demands. This was met w/ whistles and jeers.
A student asked Ayma, shouting, whether they should loot or ransack the municipal offices to get the government's attention. He was irrate that the government had given into every other sector's demands, but theirs. The violence and chaos of the past week toppled a government and was effective in getting government concessions; do the UPEA protesters have to go to those lengths?
Posted by Miguel at 05:33 PM
Comments
Miguel! Maybe you won't even remember who I am, but I just wanted to say that your story was published in the Saginaw News! I was reading and reading and then I realized it was YOU that is in the middle of all that! Hopefully everything is okay there, or will be soon - it sounds scary! Take care,
Carrie Ann Kilbourn
Posted by: Carrie at October 24, 2003 10:44 AM