National Strike Council
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The National Strike Council, the Consejo Nacional de Huelga (CNH) was created on August 2, 1968,[1] composed of the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), the National Polytechnic Institute (IPN),[2] El Colegio de Mexico, the School of Agriculture of Chapingo, the Universidad Iberoamericana, the Universidad La Salle and other universities in Mexico.
It was created in response to developments against the student community, such as the intervention of the army in a confrontation between students of the Vocational School #2 (IPN) and the preparatory high school "Isaac Ochenterena"[3] incorporated to the UNAM, in which several students from both schools were detained and the destruction caused by a bazooka used by the army at the entrance[4] of the high school San Ildefonso.[5][6]
The strike council was democratic and participatory and sought engagement with the Mexican government and Mexicans in a public dialog. Their insistence on transparency was crucial for maintaining the support of their base and anathema to the government's typical deal-making in private.[7]