UC San Diego

In the 1940s and 50s, the Federation of Uruguayan University Students (Federación de Estudiantes Universitarios del Uruguay, FEUU) advocated for university reforms based on the social mission (la misión social), a philosophy that argued for the benefits of the university to be extended to the community as a way of improving society. During these years, the FEUU also spoke out on international politics and built alliances with workers and other students around the world. Based on a firm anti- imperialist stance, the FEUU also joined leftist intellectuals in Uruguay in developing the Third Way (Tercerismo), a position that critiqued both capitalism and communism as polarizing binaries of the Cold War. As a result of its activism and political agenda, the FEUU faced backlash from the United States and Uruguayan governments, as well as the mainstream press in Uruguay. By examining FEUU publications and archival records, as well as select material from the mainstream press and government archives, this dissertation explores the FEUU's public persona during the 1940s and 50s in four thematic chapters : 1) transnational student networks, 2) student- worker alliances, 3) conflicts with the state(s), and 4) relationships with the mainstream and leftist presses. Through these different themes, this project demonstrates that the FEUU built and maintained a consistent collective identity during the 1940s and 50s, one that was deeply affected by both domestic and global politics and saw the university, and students in particular, as an important social force capable of improving society. By exploring important pieces of the FEUU's identity and public voice during these years, this dissertation broadens our understanding of student politics and transnational student activism in Latin America before the more tumultuous 1960s