Strikers say they will only leave the building when negotiations resume; university institutes reacted against student action
The students of occupy the rectory building for the 2nd day in a row this Saturday (May 9, 2026). Even after the water and electricity were cut off at the site since Friday night (May 8), the strikers promise not to leave until the rector, resume negotiations to meet student agendas.
The students’ main demand is the readjustment of the PAPFE (Student Permanence and Training Support Program), aimed at students in socioeconomic vulnerability. Today, the program pays R$335 to students with a place in student housing and R$885 to those who depend on full financial support. Protesters are asking for both amounts to be increased to R$1,804, equivalent to São Paulo’s minimum wage, on the grounds that the aid no longer covers the costs of staying at university.
Watch the video of the moment students enter the rectory building:
📹 USP students occupy rectory and demand resumption of negotiations
🏛️ Students from the University of São Paulo occupied, on Thursday (May 7, 2026), the institution’s rectory building. The group demands that rector Aluísio Augusto Cotrim Segurado resume negotiations on…
— Poder360 (@Poder360)
On Friday (May 8), the institution cut off the water and electricity supply to the building with the aim of making it unfeasible for students to stay. To overcome the difficulty, employee unions, academic centers and university professors have provided food and gallons of water to students.
With rest tents, speakers and a committee to clean the space, the students are organized to maintain the mobilization. A show by independent artist Sophia Chablau is scheduled for the end of the afternoon on Rua da Rectory.
Press access to the inside of the building is limited. Students fear being identified and suffering reprisals from the rectory. Many wear masks.
DEMANDS
In response to demands to increase the aid to R$1,984, the rectory offered an increase of R$27 in full aid and R$5 in partial aid. Insured says that student demand has changed and that São Paulo’s minimum wage was never in the discussions. The students deny it.
In addition to PAPFE, students demand changes to the rules for the use of academic spaces, the creation of trans quotas and indigenous entrance exams. A draft on the use of spaces was revoked by the rectory after the expansion of the student strike.
Students also complain about the university’s infrastructure. The strikers report problems in the university restaurant, such as the presence of larvae, cockroaches and pieces of glass in the meals. The hiring of teachers, central to the of 2023, is another demand.
IMPASSE
Insured showed no intention of giving in. In an interview with journalists on Friday (May 8), the rector said he did not recognize an error in the conduct of the negotiations that led to the invasion of the building.
He stated that the institution’s proposal, made at the last meeting with students on April 30, was the final one considering the “budgetary possibilities of the university”.
The dean criticized what he called “another agenda, external to the university“. Insured mentioned the use of symbols on shirts and party flags. He also mentioned the call for an act against the governor (Republicans) as evidence of political orchestration.
The student class denies the association. For a communication student at the university, who preferred not to be identified, the attempt at party association made by the dean “It’s a way of trying to delegitimize the students who are here”.
According to the student, “Political speeches, of political debate, are present, but it is something natural and not organically linked to any type of political party or specific movement”.
STOPIM
The student strike followed that of technical and administrative employees at USP, which ended on April 24 after an agreement with the rectory. There were 10 days of stoppage.
The movement took place after the creation of GACE (Gratification for Strategic Complementary Activities) by the rectory, a bonus intended for teachers for additional activities, on March 31st.
In the end, the workers accepted the bonus of around R$1,600 per month, which equates the earnings to the amount allocated to teachers through GACE.
Among the guarantees granted to employees by the institution was precisely the dialogue between the rectory and students about the category’s agenda. As a result, rounds of conversations were held, but without reaching a breakthrough.
According to the rector, in an interview with , “There is no longer room for negotiation when one of the parties understands that it only ends with the full fulfillment of all demands”.
This report was produced by journalism intern João Lucas Casanova under the supervision of Assistant Editorial Secretary Guilherme Pavarin
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