The University Reform and the university movement in Peru in 1919 Analysis of its institutional, social and political dimensions

In this article we develop the main milestones of Peru's 1919 university reform based on an analysis of three dimensions: institutional, social and political. For the first dimension, we give an account of the changes made at the University of San Marcos based on the demands of the students. In the case of the second, we explain how the university movement links up with other social sectors, especially with the workers, not only by supporting each other in their repertoires of struggle, but also by creating Volkshochschulen as spaces for strengthening and forming active citizenship. Finally, with regard to the political a dimension, we show how the Peruvian Student Federation and the University Reform Committee participated in the celebrations of the centenary of independence, and from those initial experiences in the public sphere, the country had a generation aware of its role as a social actor that had a presence for much of Peru's political life in the twentieth century, whether as representatives in Parliament, diplomats, critical intellectuals or political leaders.