MEXICO CITY (AP) -- The head of Latin America's largest university
                  presented a plan Thursday to completely overhaul the institution's bylaws in
                  hopes of ending an 8-month-old student strike.

                  Rector Juan Ramon de la Fuente's proposal calls for the election of a
                  500-member University Congress made up of faculty, students, researchers
                  and workers, to revise the bylaws of the National Autonomous University of
                  Mexico.

                  The plan will now be considered by the University Council, made up of
                  faculty representatives.

                  The university, popularly known as UNAM, has been shut down since April,
                  locking out its 268,000 students.

                  Strikers initially protested a plan to raise tuition from the equivalent of a few
                  cents to $140 (U.S.) annually. Though authorities dropped the fee hike, the
                  demands grew to include automatic admission for UNAM prep school
                  graduates and relaxation of academic levels.

                  Negotiations to end the strike have repeatedly deadlocked

                  In November, De la Fuente replaced Francisco Barnes de Castro, the
                  rector who had backed the fee hike and proved unable to resolve the
                  subsequent strike.

                  On Thursday, some 500 striking students staged a sit-in outside the building
                  where de la Fuente was meeting with faculty. The students held signs saying
                  they rejected his latest proposal.

                    Copyright 2000 The Associated Press.