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Student Political Activism in Guatemala: A Research Note
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 02 January 2018
Extract
Scholarly interest in student political behavior has grown markedly in recent years. Among those who have done research and written on Latin American students a good deal of effort has gone into attempts to develop some generalizations about bases of student activism. A major objective of these efforts has been to try and explain why students become politically active and what differentiates the politically active from the inactive students. Several hypotheses have been advanced in this research attempting to explain high degrees of student political involvement by relating it to factors in the students’ backgrounds or environment. Some of the hypotheses which stand out in the literature have been selected for analysis here. They will be examined in relation to data gathered during recent research on university students in Guatemala.
- Type
- Research Article
- Information
- Journal of Interamerican Studies and World Affairs , Volume 13 , Issue 1 , January 1971 , pp. 78 - 88
- Copyright
- Copyright © University of Miami 1971
References
1 Much of this research has been summarized in Lipset, Seymour, ed., Student Politics (New York: Basic Books, 1967), pp. 1–53 Google Scholar. For a discussion of the literature on Latin American students see Petersen, John H., “Recent Research on Latin American University Students,” Latin American Research Review 5, no. 1 (Spring 1970): 37–58 Google Scholar.
2 See, for example, Reyes, Miguel Ángel, El Poder Político de los estudiantes universitarios (Guatemala: Facultad de Ciencias Jurídicas y Sociales, Universidad de San Carlos de Guatemala, 1967), p. 5 Google Scholar; Petersen, John H., “The Political Role of University Students in Guatemala, 1944-1968” (unpublished Ph.D. dissertation, University of Pittsburgh, 1969)Google Scholar; and Toledo, Mario Monteforte, Guatemala: Monografía Sociológica (Mexico, D.F.: U.N.A.M., 1965), p. 334 Google Scholar. All agree that the faculties of law, humanities, and economics stand out as the most politically active at the university. The same general breakdown of faculty activism is found at other Latin American universities according to the summary presented in Lipset, Student Politics, p. 45.
3 In this study, activism is defined as participation in student political meetings, support for petitions and position papers, and participation in demonstrations and strikes. It does not refer to ideological division among students, i.e., radicalism, liberalism, conservatism, which represents a separate dimension.
4 For a strong endorsement of the use of aggregate statistics in Latin American political research see Schmitter, Philippe C., “New Strategies for the Comparative Analysis of Latin American Politics,” Latin American Research Review 4, no. 2 (Summer 1969): 83–110 Google Scholar.
5 For example, Lipset, , Student Politics, p. 24 Google Scholar. Also see Wright Bakke, E., “Students on the March: The Cases of Mexico and Colombia,” Sociology of Education 37 (Spring 1964): 204 Google Scholar; and Walter Washington, S., “Student Political Activity in Latin America,” in Latin American Politics, Tomasek, Robert, ed. (New York: Doubleday and Co., 1966), p. 118 Google Scholar.
6 Hennessy, Alistair, “University Students in National Politics,” in The Politics of Conformity in Latin America, Veliz, Claudio, ed. (London: Oxford University Press, 1967), p. 132 Google Scholar.
7 Donahue, Francis, “Students in Latin American Politics,” Antioch Review 24 (Spring 1966): 94 Google Scholar.
8 Walter, Richard, Student Politics in Argentina (New York: Basic Books, 1968), p. 193 Google Scholar; Bonilla, Frank, “The Chilean Student Federation,” Journal of Inter-American Studies 2 (July 1960): 329 Google Scholar.
9 “Edad media de los estudiantes inscritos por facultad, ciclo académico 1967,” Boletín Estadístico Universitario, Año VI, no. 6 (Guatemala, C. A.: Oficina de Registro, Universidad de San Carlos, 1967): 23.
10 Ibid., p. 22.
11 “Resumen de los requisitos académicos y del progreso académico estudiantil en cada carrera, facultad y ciudad universitaria,” Progreso académico de los estudiantes de la Universidad de San Carlos de Guatemala (Guatemala: Instituto de Investigaciones y Mejoramiento Educativo, Universidad de San Carlos de Guatemala, 1964), pp. 15-17.
12 For example, Bonilla, Frank, “Students in Politics: Three Generations of Political Action in a Latin American University” (Unpublished Ph.D. dissertation, Harvard University, 1959), pp. 250–255 Google Scholar; and Lipset, , Student Politics, p. 25 Google Scholar.
13 “Estudiantes enquestados por facultad y personas con quienes viven,” Estudio de las condiciones socio-económicas de los estudiantes (Guatemala: Oficina de Registro, Universidad de San Carlos, 1967), p. 9.Google Scholar
14 “Fuente principal de ingresos del estudiante,” ibid., p. 15.
15 A summary of these studies is presented in Lipset, , Student Politics, p. 29 Google Scholar.
16 Glazer, Myron, “Student Politics in a Chilean University,” Daedalus 97 (Winter 1968): 104 Google Scholar; Walter Washington, S., “The Political Activity of Latin American Students,” in Latin American Politics, by Tomasek, Robert, ed., p. 125 Google Scholar.
17 Albórnoz, Orlando, “Student Opposition in Latin America,” Government and Opposition 2 (Oct. 1966-Jan. 1967): 108–109 Google Scholar.
18 “Estudiantes inscritos por tipo de establecimiento donde obtuvieron el título o diploma que les sirvió para ingresar a la universidad,” Boletín Estadístico Universitario, p. 32.
19 “Valor mediano de los ingresos familiares y percápita,” Condiciones socioeconómicas de los estudiantes, p. 21.
20 “Estudiantes enquestados por facultad y nivel educational del padre,’ ibid., p. 13.
21 Guatemalan society is divided between Indians, who retain their traditional dress, language, religion and customs, and ladinos, who are “westernized” in dress, language, and culture. The distinction is primarily cultural, not racial.