The university as a battlefield: the recess of the San Marcos University, 1921-1922

Abstract

Following an eventful conference given by Víctor Andrés Belaúnde in the night of March 22, 1921 at the University of San Marcos, a group of professors declared in recess and closed down the university. After this act, the government took over the campus, announced vacancy of the presidency and chairs, and ordered a reorganization. These actions of the government and professors caused a sad episode in the history of the University of San Marcos, which kept its doors closed exactly on the year of the first centennial celebration of the Peruvian independence. Since the beginning of the Oncenio, leguiistas and civilistas were fighting tough battles in various trenches of the national scene, struggling to take or maintain their share of political power in order to exert hegemony in Peru. The University of San Marcos was no longer an academic space, but a political forum for the civilista opposition. The government of Leguía reacted by intervening the university and dictating measures for its reorganization. Nevertheless, none of the efforts were successful, as the university kept its doors closed during the rest of the year, causing great harm to the students who became the main victims by losing the school year.