The National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) Rector Enrique Graue Wiechers said that the university will favor dialogue to recover the Justo Sierra auditorium, despite the demand for dispossession filed with the authorities since long ago.
“We will act first and we will try, by all means, of establishing the best communication possible with them in order to request that they move out of the auditorium,” said Graue Wiechers.
During an interview after the analysis of the 2015 UNAM annual account by the university council, the rector was asked about the remark by National Security Commissioner Renato Sales, who said that they university needed to file a complaint in order for the authorities to act.
Graue said that the complaint was filed and that the auditorium has been publicly requested to be cleared.
“We are trying by all means to establish dialogue with the people occupying the auditorium. It is likely that we will discuss the issue today during the university council,” he added.
UPDATE: The school council of the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) unanimously approved the creation of a document that demands the de-occupation of the Justo Sierra Auditorium, of the Philosophy and Words Department, in Ciudad Universitaria, that emphasizes dialogue.
At the end of the year’s first session, rector Enrique Graue Wiechers announced the creation of a commission so that this Friday a pronouncement would be ready that looks to represent the university’s community. It will be made up of academics, administrative workers and students.
Grace said that in the case of necessity of recouping the auditorium also known as Che Guevara “we have no fear” and asked that confrontation be avoided between people on the university campus, which he defined as the worse case scenario.
In the session, which took place within the old school of medicine in the Centro Histórico (Historic Down Town) neighborhood, he said the problem is not only one department, but the entire university and therefore, of its rector.
“We have always privileged dialogue. It hasn’t been easy and it won’t be in the future. We haven’t found a way of interlocution with the occupants of Justo Sierra.”
Finally he ruled out that “when one feels that they can’t dialogue anymore and go over it again, most likely we will have to talk to outside forces. We don’t have coercive skills, we will have to resort to outside sources, to the State, and with good reason they say that is not always the best idea.”
The special commission meet with little prior notice so that the document would be ready this Friday. At the writing of this article, the session had still not concluded.
WITH ADDITIONAL INFORMATION FROM DALILA ESCOBAR/THE NEWS