USP Sets Mediation Panel as Student Strike Enters Second Month

Overview

• USP announced Wednesday a Mediation and Institutional Dialogue Commission to negotiate with student leaders, with members and the first meeting still to be set.
• Students marched in central São Paulo Wednesday night calling for talks and demanding a jump in the Papfe stipend from R$885 to the São Paulo minimum wage of R$1,804, which the university countered at about R$912.
• The police cleared the rectorate before dawn Sunday, with the Military Police saying about 150 people were removed with no injuries and promising to review any excess, as Governor Tarcísio de Freitas said the force acted within the law.
• Student representatives and faculty report the use of stun grenades, tear gas and batons during the removal and say several students were taken to hospitals, a version the police dispute.
• New pressures now surround the talks, with more than 70 professors signing an open letter backing the strike and state deputy Guto Zacarias urging internal probes and possible expulsions over alleged damage to the rectorate.