Puerto Rico Students Strike Against US-Imposed University Cuts

Protesting the Fiscal Control Board's proposed cuts, the General Council of Students and hundreds more shut down and took over the campus.

Students at the University of Puerto Rico in San Juan are on an indefinite strike against a proposed three-year $450 million budget cut imposed by the U.S. government.

The strike, which began Tuesday, was organized by the General Council of Students in response to an austerity program proposed by Puerto Rico’s Fiscal Supervision Board.

The JSF is the U.S-appointed economic board overseeing the restructuring of Puerto Rico’s US$70 billion debt owed to wealthy foreign investors. Along with cuts to public education, the board has also proposed to cut health care and housing funds.

Protesting the JSF’s proposal, the General Council of Students and hundreds more shut down and took over the campus.

“This (budget cuts) will destroy the University of Puerto Rico and students across the island because fewer students will be able to access public education,” UPR professor Martha Quiñones told Sputnik International.

Source: Telesur.