Global Courant 2023-04-26 11:06:08
The outrageous images of surveillance squads of paramilitary tinge will forever be recorded in the annals of the history of the University of San Carlos of Guatemala (Usac). Outside the house of studies, they were stationed inside the Parque de la Industria to prevent the arrival of opponents to the form of the former dean of Humanities Walter Mazariegos, to the vote carried out on May 14 by an informal court order.
From the beginning of his campaign to aspire to the rectory, Mazariegos was accused of having the support of the ruling party, despite which he did not achieve the necessary number of voters to prevail. There were at least three applicants with possibilities of support. On the day of the call, April 27, an attempt to carry out a secret ballot was conjured in which opposition academic units were excluded.
The dean of Economic Sciences, Luis Suárez, also a candidate for rector, had four electoral bodies, but withdrew from the race and made them available to Mazariegos, who obtained 72 votes through rigging and suspensions. Links with the official party were insistently denied, although later decisions of the Higher University Council contributed to the controversy. The Association of University Students does not recognize the legitimacy of the elections, as do several academic units. The occupation of the central campus for almost a year has prevented Mazariegos from entering the Rectory building. The situation over the takeover of Ciudad Universitaria has not led to the establishment of a dialogue either. The way out of the wrong would be to repeat the entire process without exclusions, which would make the defeat of Mazariegos foreseeable.
The echoes of the fraudulent 2022 election transcend borders. Six days ago, Costa Rican students demanded at a meeting of the Central American Higher University Council the expulsion of Mazariegos, considering his appointment invalid. It was striking and symptomatic that Nicaragua, dominated by a repressive dictatorship of students, religious, journalists and political opponents, has opposed this call, a support that borders on opprobrium.
The stubbornness of the “winning” list and the intensification of the protest have caused university activity to continue to lag behind, without recovering face-to-face attendance. Although online classes continue, there are faculties in which the experience of interaction in the classroom, the laboratory, and the use of scientific devices cannot be postponed. The longer the struggle lasts, the greater the risk of deterioration in the training quality of thousands of future professionals and, therefore, the impact on society.
It is worth mentioning that some regional headquarters were retaken by armed groups that are not police forces or Usac guards, despite ongoing legal proceedings.
As a climax, it is worth noting a situation that is too convergent to be considered a coincidence: on January 8, the ruling Vamos party appointed Luis Suárez, the former dean of Economic Sciences, as vice-presidential candidate, the same one who endorsed his votes to the payroll that took Mazariegos to the Rectory. Beyond Suárez’s professional abilities or convictions, it is not necessary to have two fingers of a brain to relate the origin of such designation, which detractors described as payment for having sold to the University of San Carlos.
repeat the election of the Usac
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