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Earlier this month marked the 55th anniversary of one of the indelible events in the memory of Mexicans: the Tlatelolco massacre, an event of historical violence that spotlighted the organization and ideas of the students who created a movement that changed us as a country.
“October 2 is not forgotten.”
The National Commission of Human Rights recounts the events that occurred on October 2, 1968, in Mexico City as “the brutal culmination of crimes that should be considered as against humanity” and that, worse, were carried out by the country’s government against university students, after a long period of arbitrary detentions.
After the Army took over several schools, the UNAM and the IPN went on strike. Many demonstrations and arbitrary arrests later, the students decided to call for a march that would begin at the Plaza of the Three Cultures in Tlatelolco. Thousands of students demanded “respect for their demands and called for social mobilization, the dissolution of the Grenadier Corps, and respect for rights”; however, the State repressed them and caused fatalities.
The number of victims was a mystery for many years, but a few years ago, it was confirmed that it could amount to more than 300. As Alberto Najar commented, “The attack became a watershed in the country’s history. Since October 2, 1968, Mexico has been socially and politically a different country.”
The Student Movement of 1968 is said to have “contributed to the cultural change in Mexico,” not only generating a political culture but also creating different artistic expressions and a critique of family authoritarianism.
According to the CNDH, the slogan “October 2 is not forgotten!” is a shout “against impunity, oblivion, and collective amnesia,” becoming one of the primary symbols of student organization from those times to the present.
Student movements
René Rivas, quoted in Student and Youth Movements in Mexico: From the M68 to Ayotzinapa, points out that a student movement is a social movement led by students, which “arises and coalesces in schools, fights for various demands, has a unique perspective, and organically acts independently of other sectors.” Miguel Ángel Ramírez Zaragoza adds that the student movements become “seedbeds for other social and popular movements.”
Student movements, in the words of Ramírez Zaragoza, “have historically had much relevance in the struggles and conquests of the Mexican people,” which he attributes to the selfless participation of its youth. Their actions give them legitimacy in the eyes of the population, so they also have social support most of the time despite media and government attacks.
On the other hand, John M. Ackerman highlights the “freshness and authenticity” of these movements, which usually generate confidence among the population, channeling “the hopes and utopias of an entire people.” However, they are also ephemeral, and their fruits may not be visible until many years or generations later, as was the case with the Movement of ’68.
In addition, Ackerman states that the latest student movements in Mexico share a “yearning for social and cultural transformation” and the search for a freer and more democratic world.
Organized university students
Endless examples show that “young people are not waiting until they get to a specific age to start making an impact on the world as leaders,” says Ricardo Triana for Expansion. He points out that 48% of millennials and 47% of Gen Z seek to impact society positively. It is young people who have brought the issues of equality and respect into the public eye.
In Mexico alone, in the last fifteen years, there have been a large number of students mobilizing. In 2012, the movement #YoSoy132 (I am #132) became the first student movement from a private university; it sought the democratization of the media in the presidential context. It comes after the visit of then-presidential candidate Enrique Peña Nieto to the Universidad Iberoamericana in Mexico City and the video response of 131 students attending the institution. Subsequently, through a video, a Tecnologico de Monterrey student called on public and private school university students to unite with the hashtag #YoSoy132.
In 2014, different institutions of higher education throughout the country, especially the teachers’ colleges, suspended activities and mobilized in different demonstrations to pressure the government of Enrique Peña Nieto after the disappearance of 43 students from Normal School Rural Raúl Isidro Burgos in Ayotzinapa. To date, the slogan “We are missing 43” is present in most of the demonstrations against the violence of the country’s Army.
That same year, a student mobilization took a stand against the reform of high school curricula and the Higher School of Engineering and Architecture (ESIA in Spanish) of the National Polytechnic Institute. The movement #TodosSomosPolitécnico (We are all Polytechnic) brought together more than 20,000 students in a mega march joined by other public and private universities. In addition to the mega marches, the students took over the different campuses of the Polytechnic in a strike that lasted for several months.
In 2019, students at the University of Guanajuato went on strike as a symbol of protest against harassment in the classroom and the violence and insecurity that had increased in that state. With the hashtag #NiUnaAbejaMenos (Not one bee less), the demonstrations demanded clarification of the femicide of Daniela Vega.
Although these are just some of the examples of student movements in the country, looking worldwide, we can find many more; however, we will only mention two:
The Valencian Spring is the name given to the protests and blockades carried out in 2012 by students of the IES Lluís Vives in response to cuts in education and the search for a dignified education. Adolescents between the ages of 13 and 18, who only demanded toilet paper and heating in the classrooms, were attacked by the police.
In 2020, Thai students of all ages (as young as ten) took to the streets to protest against authoritarianism in their country. In 2019, Thailand would have become a nation with a semi-elected government, but it remained controlled by the military. The protests soon turned violent, attacking the students who, with the people’s sympathy, demanded the dissolution of the Parliament, a rewriting of the constitution, and an end to the harassment of citizens critical of the government.
University students as agents of change
While young people are known for their social work, it is not only youth that allows students to be continuous change agents in their countries.
The college experience provides unique personal, academic, and social development opportunities. Access to the various educational resources and the different events and talks allows them to use this knowledge to raise awareness of multiple social, economic, and environmental issues.
The students’ civic participation in advocating for change is activism that can significantly impact society, as we have already discussed. Many of the triumphs of these movements are not immediate but will have repercussions in society for many years to come.
Day after day, young people raise their voices in search of a fairer world, whether it is to demand free education, fight against a corrupt government, or demand regulations in Industry to alleviate harmful climate changes. All are examples to follow.
“To be young and not to be a revolutionary is a contradiction, even biological,” is a famous phrase from Salvador Allende in a speech at the University of Guadalajara. Although the speech is from over 50 years ago, it is still relevant.
October 2 is not forgotten, and although the cry is not shouted every day, students pay tribute to it whenever they organize to change the world.
Translated by Daniel Wetta
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This article from Observatory of the Institute for the Future of Education may be shared under the terms of the license CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 
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