“Conflict is going to come”. University Student reformismo in Chile, 1957-1967

Abstract

The University Reform in Chile, which began in 1967 and lasted until the coup d'état in 1973, was decisively driven by the university student movement, which for several years constructed an alternative proposal to the then-current university model. This proposal, —whose main axes were modernization, democratization, and the openness to society of universities— was implemented throughout the Chilean university system after 1967. This article proposes understanding the Reform as the result of a process of political, intellectual, and strategic development that took place between 1957 and 1967, when the student movement progressively consolidated a representative national organization, coherent political leadership, a clear and detailed reformist program, and a growing capacity to mobilize the student base. Through a review of primary and secondary sources, a stylized periodization of this process is constructed, highlighting the internal transformations of the student movement during the period and analyzing their consequences. Finally, the article concludes by affirming the historical importance of the student movement as a dynamic actor in Chile's political and social history.