(2017) UPR Student Strike

 

The 2017 UPR Student Strike and the Legacy of Student Movements

In the early months of 2017, the University of Puerto Rico (UPR) became the stage for one of the most significant student strikes in the institution’s history. It was a battle against austerity, a stand against the draconian budget cuts imposed by the Fiscal Oversight Board and the administration of Governor Ricardo Rosselló Nevares. What began as a movement to defend the public university quickly escalated into a complex social struggle that exposed the fragility of Puerto Rico’s political and economic structures.

As a participant in the strike at UPR Ponce, I witnessed firsthand the power of collective resistance, the weight of political decisions on education, and the undeniable connection between student activism and literature. The strike was not just about keeping the doors of the university open; it was about defending knowledge, culture, and the very fabric of a society in crisis.

UPR 2017: A Battle for the Future

The strike began on March 28, 2017, in the Río Piedras campus and quickly spread across the island. 

The students’ main demand was to stop a proposed $300 million budget cut (which later increased to $512 million) that threatened to dismantle the public university system. Protesters faced police brutality, legal battles, and the resignation of key university officials, including the interim president, Nivia Fernández.

Despite internal disagreements, political pressure, and the ever-present threat of state repression, the movement remained resilient. Students occupied campuses, held public assemblies, and proposed legislative solutions to fund the university. The strike may not have completely stopped the budget cuts, but it forced a national conversation on the value of higher education in a colony subjected to the dictates of an unelected fiscal board.

The UNAM 1968 Strike: A Historical Parallel

Looking back at other student movements, one of the most powerful comparisons is the 1968 strike at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM). What began as a protest against police repression escalated into a nationwide student movement that culminated in the Tlatelolco Massacre. The Mexican government, fearing the growing power of the student movement, unleashed a violent crackdown that resulted in hundreds of deaths.

While the contexts are different, the parallels are undeniable. Both movements were about more than just education, they were about democracy, about the right to dissent, and about resisting authoritarian policies disguised as economic or security measures. The UNAM strike of 1968 serves as a grim reminder that governments often respond to student activism with force, and that the struggle for a just society is never without sacrifice.

Politics, Literature, and the Role of the Student

The intersection of student activism, politics, and literature has always fascinated me. From José Martí’s revolutionary essays to Julia de Burgos’ poetic calls for justice, literature has been an essential tool in shaping political consciousness. The UPR strike was no different. Students created their own manifestos, used poetry and art as forms of protest, and turned the occupied campuses into spaces for alternative education.

Reading literature during the strike took on a new dimension. Suddenly, the struggles of fictional characters mirrored our own. The sense of alienation described by Kafka, the defiance in Lorca’s verses, and the raw political critique in George Orwell’s works all felt eerily relevant. The strike was not just a political act; it was a literary experience, one that rewrote our understanding of power, resistance, and the role of the intellectual in society.

Parliament and the Reality of Student Proposals

One of the most striking aspects of the UPR strike was the students’ effort to engage with the political system. Instead of simply rejecting the budget cuts, they proposed five legislative projects aimed at securing funding for the university. These proposals sought to generate $500 million in revenue, nearly matching the amount that was being slashed.

This moment was crucial because it highlighted an important truth: student movements are not just about protest; they are also about governance. In a scenario where politicians often fail to represent the interests of the people, students stepped in to offer tangible solutions. Whether or not these proposals were accepted, their mere existence challenged the notion that students were merely “rebels without a cause.”

Lessons from the UPR Ponce Strike

At UPR Ponce, the strike was a microcosm of the larger struggle. It was in the simple moments, preparing breakfast with fellow strikers, listening to the radio as Oscar López Rivera was released, debating strategy in late-night assemblies, where I truly understood what it meant to fight for education.

The strike taught me that resistance is both exhausting and exhilarating. It showed me that knowledge is never neutral, that education is always political, and that literature is a battlefield as much as it is an escape. Most importantly, it reinforced the idea that every generation must find its own way to fight against injustice.

The UPR strike of 2017, like the UNAM strike of 1968, was a moment in history. But moments do not exist in isolation. They are part of a larger, ongoing struggle, one that continues in every protest, in every poem, in every student who refuses to accept the dismantling of public education.

-ER

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References:

 Cortés, D. (2017, April 25). The University of Puerto Rico student strike, explained. Pasquines. Retrieved from https://pasquines.us/2017/04/25/university-puerto-rico-student-strike-explained/

 Álvarez, L. (2019). Puerto Rico’s battle for public education: University strikes, neoliberalism, and resistance. Routledge.

Burgos, J. (2004). Song of the simple truth: The complete poems of Julia de Burgos (J. O. Patterson, Trans.). Northwestern University Press.

Gillingham, P. (2018). The Tlatelolco Massacre, Mexico 1968, and the emotional history of protest. Oxford University Press.

Kafka, F. (2005). The trial (D. Wyllie, Trans.). Project Gutenberg. (Original work published 1925)

Orwell, G. (1949). Nineteen eighty-four. Secker & Warburg.

Picó, F. (2019). Puerto Rico: Una historia contemporánea. Ediciones Huracán.

Vaello, M. L. (2017). El impacto de los recortes en la Universidad de Puerto Rico y la lucha estudiantil. Revista de Estudios Puertorriqueños, 8(2), 45-67.