Mexico 68

Mexico 68
Part of the Protests of 1968
Armored cars at the "Zócalo" in Mexico City in 1968
Date	1968
Location	Mexico
Causes	1968 Summer Olympics Economy of Mexico Generation gap
Result	Start of the Dirty War

The Mexican Student Movement of 1968 was a student movement caused by an ideological clash between generations. Socialism and Capitalism also influenced the students and the government at that time. October 2 and the Silence March are the most important parts of the movement. Students from the IPN, UNAM and other schools forgot their differences and acted as one to achieve their goals. The 1968 Summer Olympics played an important role on the way the government acted. Both the government and the students acted according to their generational ideologies. This movement was influenced by the world’s movements at that time, like the Hippie movement. The movement influenced Mexican feminism and women played an important role in it. The events that happened from July–October 1968 are colloquially called Mexico 68.

See: Columbia University protests of 1968

During this time, the Vietnam War caused an ideological revolution around the world. With the introduction of The Pill, sexual liberation arose giving momentum to Mexico. Also, the hippie movement gave place to a "peace and love" ideology, adopted by students worldwide who tried to extend it throughout society. These were some of the reasons why many student movements took place around the globe, showing young people's dissatisfaction with the social situation.

There was an ideological clash between older adults and younger adults, caused by the differences between the generations to which they belonged. The newer generations were open-minded toward innovations and believed in a bright future, while the previous generations found themselves unprepared to accept all the new ideas. Because of this ideological clash, the new generation was repressed by the previous one, which resulted in the formation of young adult movements.

The government restricted citizens' freedom of speech and action. This caused them to live a more pacified life in some ways. However, people got tired of this lifestyle, becoming discontent and dissatisfied with their government. Mexico, like the rest of the world, was dealing with the clash of two ideologies, socialism and capitalism, which gave place to internal conflicts. According to the Constitution, the government had the right to use military force in order to maintain peace in the country.