The First Days. An Explanation of the Immediate Origins of the 1968 Student Movement

This article reconstructs and analyzes the concrete events that originated the 1968 student uprising in Mexico City. It centers on certain issues that intensified the inconformity between July 23rd and August 1st, such as the technical and tactical incompetence of the police during riots, the experience accumulated by students during demonstrations, the decisive participation of non-student groups (gangs, porros) during the first days of struggle in schools and streets, the underestimation of local and national governments regarding the nature and intensity of student inconformity. This paper also suggests that the students' physical and symbolic defense of high schools determined the immediate future of the movement. Finally, the author outlines the political crisis suffered by the national government due to the increasing student inconformity