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DATE=11/29/1999
TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
TITLE=MEXICO / STRIKE TALKS (L-ONLY)
NUMBER=2-256642
BYLINE=GREG FLAKUS
DATELINE=MEXICO CITY
CONTENT=
VOICED AT=
INTRO:  In Mexico, the new rector of the National 
Autonomous University of Mexico, known as UNAM, met on 
Monday with student militants who have kept the 
institution shut down for the past seven months.  As 
V-O-A's Greg Flakus reports from Mexico City, the 
meeting was a sign of progress, but the differences 
between the two sides are still great.
TEXT:  In the first face-to-face meeting between an 
UNAM rector and striking students since the conflict 
began in April, there was an air of civility that some 
observers say provides hope for a peaceful solution.  
UNAM Rector Ramon de la Fuente, who replaced former 
Rector Francisco Barnes 10 days ago, told the student 
strike representatives that dialogue offers the best 
way out of the crisis.
   /// DE LA FUENTE ACT IN SPANISH, IN AND UNDER ///
He said that through an open discussion, the student 
militants and university officials can address all 
issues that divide them.
Strike representative Arlene Serna says she and her 
fellow student negotiators are also committed to 
resolving the conflict through these talks.
     /// SERNA ACT IN SPANISH, IN AND UNDER ///
She says, "We will not get up from this table until we 
have found a solution, until we have addressed all of 
the six demands made by the General Strike Council."  
Those demands include a guarantee that the university 
be free of charge to any student who wishes to attend, 
that the school come under the control of a student 
congress and that students be allowed to graduate 
regardless of their grades or test scores.
Mr. De La Fuente has said he wants to resolve the 
strike without further diminishing the quality of 
education offered at UNAM, which is the largest 
university in Mexico and in all of the Americas.  But 
some observers believe the strike has already damaged 
the image of the school permanently.  
Students, who have lost the opportunity to study since 
the strike began on April 20, complain that the 
government has denied their right to an education by 
avoiding use of public force to reopen the campus.  
Only a small fraction of UNAM's more than 250-thousand 
students are involved in the strike.
Talks between the student militants and Rector De La 
Fuente are set to resume on Wednesday.   (Signed)
NEB/GF/WTW
29-Nov-1999 18:25 PM EDT (29-Nov-1999 2325 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
.