University of Puerto Rico strike: “Not since Vieques…”

The University of Puerto Rico retreated on some cuts on Saturday. But the student strike continues.

Reports the Miami Herald:

Not since Puerto Rico rallied to chase the United States Navy out of Vieques a decade ago have so many different social sectors rallied around a single cause. Experts say a university with a history of often-leftist political struggles that sometimes ended in violence has, for the first time, launched an island-wide walkout that underscores discontent felt throughout Puerto Rico.

As more people here lose their jobs, experts say the UPR strike stands as a symbol of a society fed up with a soured economy and messy politics.

“In many ways, this strike has no precedent,” said Pablo Navarro, a professor at Lesley University in Massachusetts, who wrote a book about the history of UPR student uprisings.

“The strike has so many factors converging that reflect the social crisis Puerto Rico is living at this time: a financial crisis that is very deep, an unemployment rate that is very high, and add to that the proposed changes that would affect the scholarships of athletes, artists, chorus and high honor students.”

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