The President of the Republic, Nicolás Maduro, recalled the historic student strike of November 21, 1957, carried out by students of the Central University of Venezuela and the Universidad Católica Andrés Bello (Andrés Bello Catholic University), in rejection of the plebiscite that would reelect then dictator Marcos Pérez Jiménez.
In his Facebook profile, he wrote:
“This November 21st, we celebrate the Venezuelan Student Day, in commemoration of the struggle of university students in 1957 against the dictatorship of Marcos Pérez Jiménez. But we also commemorate the struggle of the thousands of university and high school students who, through four decades, raised their voices in protest against the “puntofijismo” (*) and the repression that the governments of AD and COPEI, as well as for a better, free and quality educational system. Many of them paid with imprisonment, and others regrettably lost their lives pursuing the dream of a better Venezuela.
Since the arrival of the Bolivarian Revolution, Commander Hugo Chávez has claimed the right to education and today we have the highest university enrollment in the history of the country, with more than 2,500,000 students, and the same thing happens with the enrollment in the high school education. We have opened universities, high schools, colleges and through the Educational Missions, we raised the preparation and training of the Venezuelan people, thanks to the important social investment, which by 2017, exceeds a 70% of the budget.
Let us continue together, youth of the country, building the Bolivarian and Chavista dream of an Empowered Venezuela, in your hands is the possible future.
(*): Refers to the “Punto Fijo Pact”, an agreement made during the fourth republic between the two leading right wing political parties in the country (Acción Democrática -AD- and COPEI), so they could alternate in power without leaving any space for any other political option.
AHORA:
