Sir

Alejandro Cuevas-Sosa distorts the picture of what is happening at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) (Nature 401, 524; 1999). UNAM has been closed for almost six months owing to a strike by students against new regulations for fees that were virtually non-existent. The academic staff have not been on strike, contrary to what Cuevas-Sosa says. Moreover, research in institutes is continuing, given that we have limited access to our laboratories in the main campus in Mexico City. Undergraduate teaching has in many cases stopped and is happening only partially in other places.

The academic arguments that started this lengthy conflict are no longer valid. The dispute has become a political argument over the most important cultural and academic project this country has ever supported. The opinions of those of us who carry out full-time academic activities in this university have been ignored or dismissed.

I raise a plea for support by scientists around the world to fight against using universities as political arenas. Governments should be alerted to the importance that research and teaching has had worldwide and to the beneficial influence these activities have on society.