If he wins the university elections, Baca Dávila would mark a milestone in the history of the state university. He would be the first journalist to be rector of Usac; he would also be the first graduate of a non-faculty school to occupy the position; the first Peruvian (nationalized Guatemalan) and the first "independent" candidate to achieve it. In this interview he talks about the work plan he offers to the San Carlo people.
Author: Irene García Alvarez
Abraham Baca Dávila is a journalist and has a degree in Communication Sciences from the School of Communication Sciences, and a degree in Law from the Faculty of Legal and Social Sciences of the University of San Carlos de Guatemala (Usac). He also has studies in sociology and political science.
Born in Peru and naturalized Guatemalan, Baca Dávila has also been a university professor, social communicator at the Supreme Electoral Tribunal, president of the Association of Journalists of Guatemala (2021-2022), and currently directs the media outlet La Nueva.
He has 50 years of professional experience, he assures.
Since last January, he has been a candidate for Rector of Usac. "Independent candidate", he says, because he has no political structure behind his candidacy, nor has he been able to gather support (at least publicly) from student groups, teachers or professionals.
Baca is convinced that the power to be rector of the University of the state university does not belong only to doctors, lawyers or engineers, who have traditionally held that position. "Journalists have as much capacity as any other professional, because we are multidisciplinary," he says.
Why do you want to be rector of Usac, and what experience do you have for that position?
The main motivation to promote myself (as a candidate) to be rector of Usac is something very important: it is the ECC and the other non-faculty schools that have not had the possibility to grow and become faculties.
Abraham Baca Dávila is a journalist and has a degree in Communication Sciences from the School of Communication Sciences, and a law degree from the Faculty of Legal and Social Sciences of the University of San Carlos de Guatemala (Usac). He also has studies in sociology and political science.
Born in Peru and naturalized Guatemalan, Baca Dávila has also been a university professor, social communicator at the Supreme Electoral Tribunal, president of the Association of Journalists of Guatemala (2021-2022), and currently directs the media outlet La Nueva.
He has 50 years of professional experience, he assures.
Since last January, he has been a candidate for Rector of Usac. "Independent candidate", he says, because he has no political structure behind his candidacy, nor has he been able to gather support (at least publicly) from student groups, teachers or professionals.
Baca is convinced that the power to be rector of the University of the state university does not belong only to doctors, lawyers or engineers, who have traditionally held that position. "Journalists have as much capacity as any other professional, because we are multidisciplinary," he says.
Why do you want to be rector of Usac, and what experience do you have for this position?
The main motivation to promote myself (as a candidate) to be rector of Usac is something very important: it is the ECC and the other non-faculty schools that have not had the possibility to grow and become faculties.
This means that they do not have representation before the University Superior Council, and I believe that all university students should be treated equally, in the same way, and not be excluded.
In these elections that were called by the University Superior Council there is an enormous exclusion, more than 40% of university students; I am talking about students and professionals who will not participate in the elections for Rector 2022-2026.
Who supports you to become Rector?
I consider that the first to support me are the authorities of the ECC, and nothing more as a moral support if you want to say.
I am an independent candidate, without any commitment, with any university group, with any political party and with any institution that should tell me: we support you.
That is why I manifest myself as an independent candidate, and yes, this way as an independent candidate I can do good things in the university because I would arrive without any commitment. Whoever accepts a penny to be able to promote a race, in this case a race for the rectorship, I think he is already making a commitment.
I have no commitment with any university group, with any political party and much less with any strong economic group in Guatemala. That is why I declared myself an independent candidate.
How will you finance your campaign, do you have financiers?
Many people think, and in some way they have, that the campaign for rector must be presidential type, the truth is not like that, if there are candidates who are doing it, it is their taste and their desire.
My campaign is modest but honest.
How do you see the current situation of Usac in academic, extension and research matters?
Definitely the university has been abandoned for several decades, I can't say years exactly, but I can speak of decades, and this has led to the abandonment of research and the supervised work that was done before.
The academy itself is very abandoned because we are not being updated, we have not been coupled to the advance of technology sciences, to the advance of communications which are fundamental for the development of any country, if we do not advance in this we cannot advance in anything else.
We have not taken advantage of evolution. Many still think of revolution, revolutions have always brought us deaths and losses and very little progress. But if we took advantage of evolution it would be the best thing, everything is evolutionary.
What is your work plan? And what are your big bets when you become Rector?
My work plan is really quite short. First is to work with transparency, 100%, not to make negotiations under the table, much less to make situations that seem good and are bad.
To really do a transparent job as we are currently doing as candidates. I can be investigated because I am acting transparently.
I believe that in order to become a rector we must make everything transparent. No more intramural education, which means that we should no longer close the university but open the university for everyone.
The admission exams should disappear, because the admission exams have served only to corrupt, they have served only to let in the recommended or the one who paid, or the one who somehow could win; and many times we have realized that those who were really prepared do not enter the university.
The university should train students to choose their university careers, give importance to vocational orientation, not for those who are about to enter, but for those who are already in the university; tell them: if you do not like the career, change schools.
What is your proposal to demand the budget that constitutionally corresponds to you?
It is very important, the political issue has a lot to do with it, if the rector is not of my sympathy, says the Government, we get into an ideological fight many times, I believe that this should not happen, the university should be universal, that is what it means. We will try to make the Government comply, and at this moment, as the Constitution says, that it complies with the constitutional 5% -contribution-.
Otherwise, we must work on an initiative and this is a good thing for the university, which has the right to a law initiative; to work on a legislation that implies more funds for the university.
What is your plan to include non-faculty schools in university policy decisions?
The non-facultative schools should already be faculties, I think what we have to do is that the University grows, that the University really gives the opportunity to the non-facultative schools and regional centers to truly become faculties, academic units that have participation in the University Superior Council and that have participation in all the activities of the university, so that the University is truly democratized.
What plans do you have to implement biosecurity protocols in the central campus and departmental campuses?
In fact, the central campus is already very small for the number of students that there are now, basically we are talking about about 200 thousand university students and that has limited access with the famous admission exams. For me that is not a problem, on the contrary, I believe that, with these new technology tools, everyone should be admitted. What should be prepared are days or sections, it is a matter of accommodation and saying well: I am going to enroll in the virtual plan or in the face-to-face plan. This is so that the student can choose.
What regulations do you have foreseen to reform the evaluation methods if the academic activities continue to be virtual?
First we have to prepare the professors, I think there must be a new number of them who have to specialize in the subject of virtual classes. Because it is easy to be receiving virtual classes, they only pause their video and audio and pretend that they are receiving classes and they are in other activities because they are only making virtual presence.
I think the responsibility lies with everyone, first we have to prepare the professors to take virtual teaching, and then make the students aware that they have to take classes with a personal commitment. It is a situation of personal awareness. There have to be reforms in education and evaluation.
How will harassment complaints of any kind be handled in your administration?
This type of situation can be handled, first by means of denunciations, many times people do not denounce, they do not say their names in order to maintain their friendship or not to get involved in issues of this nature, and this makes them remain silent. The best thing is not to remain silent, only in this way can these situations be followed up, and above all for that there are the courts and the courts of justice that can take the cases and practically determine the guilt of any person who is handling the situation in a negative way.
Original publication: Agencia Universitaria de Noticias
By: Irene García Alvarez
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