Back in May, his parents joined with tens of thousands of their colleagues from all over the state in an annual occupation of the center of the state capital. As they had for the last 26 years, they pitched their tents and stretched their tarps during spring break and demanded better salaries and more money for books, shoes and hot lunches for their students; but this year something was different. Instead of negotiating the promise of relief of their grievances (more a promise in the past than a performance), the new governor, a self-styled “strong man,” rebuffed almost all their demands. When the two weeks that had in the past constituted the limit of their stay was up, the teachers refused to budge. The governor sent in the troops, and a battle ensued which the teachers, by their overwhelming numbers, won.