Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: Objective/Context: In 1971, students from Universidad del Valle burst onto the public stage amid nationwide social unrest. Their actions triggered repression by the authorities and the declaration of a state of siege, while also catalyzing the largest student mobilization of the twentieth century in Colombia. This article focuses on the period leading up to the national movement and examines how students interpreted the university’s place in society and their own role in the struggle to define social change. Methodology: The research is based on an intelligence file containing “subversive” materials seized by the authorities and used as evidence of an alleged guerrilla plot. The documents were analyzed and cross-checked against information from national and international archives, newspapers, and interviews with student movement leaders. Originality: The article deepens understanding of the student movement by emphasizing the production and circulation of knowledge about the university crisis generated by students, state agents, and U.S. observers. Furthermore, it underscores the intellectual, organizational, and cultural-creation work these students undertook to mobilize the masses and critique U.S. imperialism. Conclusions: The 1971 strike reveals the student body as an intellectual community with a sophisticated understanding of the university’s role in social change and a cultural strategy for reaching the masses. Both characteristics were strengthened amid university modernization; however, the student body faced sanctions and repression from the authorities.
Source: Historia Crítica
Language: English
Subfield: Demography
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: diamond
OpenAlex ID: W7171982876