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Alleged abuses at Normal Mactumactzá; lack of water caused extreme dehydration
🇲🇽 Mexico /Culture & Society

Alleged abuses at Normal Mactumactzá; lack of water caused extreme dehydration

From El Universal · () Spanish

Translated from Spanish, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Named sources Outcome reported
  • Students at the Mactumactzá Rural Normal School in Chiapas reported extreme dehydration and mistreatment during an induction week.
  • They claim they were deprived of water, forced to work with inadequate tools, and denied access to restrooms.
  • Two male students and one female student requested to leave the program due to the alleged suffering and are seeking transfer to other institutions.

Students at the Mactumactzá Rural Normal School in Chiapas have denounced alleged abuses during an induction week, claiming extreme dehydration and suffering caused by a lack of water and harsh conditions. Two male students and one female student requested to leave the program, citing unbearable mistreatment.

You are completely deprived of water, and they don't let you go to the bathroom; you can only go when they tell you.

— StudentA male student describing the conditions during the induction week at Mactumactzá Rural Normal School.

One young man recounted enduring four days without adequate water, stating, "You are completely deprived of water, and they don't let you go to the bathroom; you can only go when they tell you." He described sharing a single glass of water among four or five students. This deprivation, he explained, led to extreme dehydration, confirmed by a medical check-up after his departure. He expressed disillusionment, having prepared for four months for the entrance exam with the dream of becoming a teacher, only to face such alleged mistreatment.

We were deprived of water, which is what made me sick. One glass for four or five people. I saw it as very bad.

— StudentA male student detailing the severe water rationing and its impact on his health.

During the induction week, students reported being awakened by student committee members in the early morning for demanding labor in the school's planting areas. They were allegedly given dull or damaged machetes to clear weeds. After strenuous work, they were forced to share minimal water rations. The young man who spoke out was eventually left by committee members near a market, where he sought help.

I endured four days because my body could not take any more.

— StudentA male student explaining the limit of his endurance due to the alleged mistreatment.

He is now demanding the right to enroll in another normal school. Students were reportedly told by the "struggle committee" members that if they couldn't endure the conditions, they should leave, as their spots would be given to other aspiring teachers. Another student shared that his family lacks the financial resources for him to attend other schools, highlighting the Normal School as his only opportunity for teacher training and self-improvement.

I passed the exam; I studied for almost four months and then they treat me like this, it's an injustice.

— StudentA male student expressing his feelings of injustice after facing alleged mistreatment following his successful entrance exam.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by El Universal in Spanish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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