Ph.D. Program in Political Science of the City University of New York Ph.D.

Program in Political Science of the City University of New York

The Political Role of the University in Latin America Author(s): Margaret Ann Goodman Source: Comparative Politics, Vol. 5, No. 2 (Jan., 1973), pp. 279-292 Published by: Ph.D. Program in Political Science of the City University of New York Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/421244 Accessed: 15/10/2008 10:17
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Research Note

The Political Role of the University in Latin America

Margaret Ann Goodman

Scholars are quick to call the Latin American university a highly political institution because student protests are frequent and virulent, and government reaction often swift and violent. This judgment, however, takes a myopic view of the political process. It labels an institution "political" simply because it is acted upon by politicians. It ignores the fact that an institution may be properly thought political only if it plays an active role in policy formulation, decision execution, appraisal, and termination. This article will demonstrate that the Latin American university has played an essentially passive role in politics. It has been the target of policy execution, but has not been a major participant in any of the key phases of the political process. It is the author's contention that both the university and Latin American societies in general have suffered as a result of the university's lack of political power. It may be that the university has no business being in politics in the first place; its job is that of exploring new fields of knowledge and teaching, not political parleying. Whether this argument is cogent in the abstract or not, the reality is that the Latin American university is involved in the political scene as a natural outcome of its source of income. All universities in Latin America are subsidized wholly or in part by the state. Even those which call themselves "private" universities (which means, in the great majority of cases, Catholic), receive funds from the state and must subordinate themselves to the educational law of the land. Furthermore, the whole legal structure of Latin American education is centralized, under the jurisdiction of a central Ministry of Education. University regulations are extensively codified and subject to national legislation. In Brazil, for example, even the university professorships are designated in the national constitution.' This often means that the university becomes just another government
1Rudolph P. Atcon, La Universidad Latino Americana (Bogota, 1966), pp. 54-60.
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agency in the eyes of the politicians who must vote on its funding requirements. Like other government employees, university personnel become embroiled in the political fortunes of party politics. Incoming regimes may try to alter the political complexion of a university by changing the university rector. Such is the case with President Salvador Allende Gossens of Chile, who is currently prosecuting Dr. Edgardo Boeninger, rector of the University of Chile and a group of opposition legislators who are against Marxist control of the university.2 The threat of government intervention may cause university personnel to take official positions which they might otherwise reject and which may even place them in opposition to university students. In the case of the military takeover in Argentina in 1966, for example, the National University of Buenos Aires issued, through its Superior Council, a formal collective protest against the assumption of power by the generals. "Immediately thereafter, however, the University, under the leadership of its Rector, Dr. Hilario Fernandez Long, prudently disassociated itself from any overt movement of resistance and avoided any gestures that might offer incitement to the regime." 3 These cases exemplify the government's encroachment upon university territory. It is much more difficult to find instances where the university has led government officials to take important steps. Individual professors or administrators may have influence in important circles; indeed, such may be the prerequisite for having their jobs. Student organizations may have high visibility and nuisance value at times. Thus, the Mexican student uprising of 1968 was a great embarrassment to a government confidently awaiting the first Latin American Olympic Games in Mexico's new and expensive stadium. The Venezuelan and Colombian student groups have contributed more than their share to the guerrilla movements that have fought against establishment governments in their respective countries. But the university as a whole has been unable to go beyond a self-imposed role of gadfly or supporter of various governments, and has failed to achieve a meaningful position for itself as a leader and innovator in its country's development process. "Basically, the Latin American University has no university policy . . . Personal relationships and institutional structure prevent the formation of staff work and group action, thus blocking the birth, maintenance and pursuits of common objectives." 4 It is time that the Latin American university made a realistic appraisal of both its potential position and its actual role within these
2 New

York Times, 20 November 1971, p. 9.

p. 47.

3 Ronald Newton, "Studentsand the Political System of the University of Buenos

Aires," Journal of Inter-AmericanStudies, VIII (October 1966), 633.

4 Atcon,

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societies. Then, it can begin to adjust its collective behavior in order to maximize its influence. Four aspects of the role of modern higher education within the framework of development planning were cited at a conference of the InterAmerican Development Bank. These were: 1. The teaching role: providing manpower for the higher echelon jobs of the nation; 2. The research role: creating new knowledge to further industrial and agriculturaldevelopment; to a deeper and clearerunder3. The public service role: contributing standingof the nation'sdevelopmentneeds; 4. The educationalleadershiprole: providingleadershipto strengthen the educational system.5 The Latin American university has generally failed to perform any of these roles well. In regard to providing manpower for the society, university faculties have been more concerned about holding on to traditional budgetary allocations than in adjusting curriculum and enrollment policies to meet the demands of transitional societies. For instance, although enrollment has increased rapidly in most of these countriesmore than doubling in Colombia between 1950 and 1960 and more than trebling in Venezuela in only five years, for example-the distribution patterns in the major faculties have remained largely static. The great majority of students are still enrolled in the faculty of philosophy, while the faculties of medicine, science, and engineering have received relatively small increases. Brazil offers a good example of this trend. University enrollment nearly doubled there between 1953 and 1963-from 45,000 to 80,000 students. A breakdown of these figures indicates that the students in the faculties of philosophy tripled during that time, from 8,000 in 1953 to 24,000 in 1963. The engineering and dentistry school enrollments did not multiply so rapidly: engineering students increased from 6,000 in 1953 to 12,000 in 1963; the corresponding figures for dentistry were 3,000 and 5,000. The increase in the faculties for medical students was much smaller. In 1953 Brazil had 20 medical schools with room for 1,500 first-year students. By 1963, 36 medical schools could accommodate 2,000 first-year students.6 These figures indicate the serious imbalance in the educational systems of these countries. On the one hand, scientists and doctors are not
6 Philip H. Coombs, "ProgrammingHigher Education within the Framework of National Development Plans," in Inter-AmericanDevelopment Bank, ed. Higher Education and Latin American Development (Asuncion, 1965), p. 16. ePaulo de Goes, "The Significanceof University Reform in Brazil,"ibid., p. 37. 281

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being trained in sufficient numbers to further either the technological advancement or the physical health of these nations. On the other hand, the universities are turning out a large number of expectant graduates who can only look to an expanding and often venal public bureaucracy for monetary support. Rather than benefitting the country as a whole by producing personnel who can speed development along, the university is actually forcing the government to expend scarce resources as the latter turns into an employment agency for the middle class. The university displays similar dysfunctions in performing its research and public service roles. There have been a few projects in which the Latin American universities have ventured to solve national and regional development problems. Both the University of Chile and Oriente University in Venezuela are attempting to set up regional development projects through the establishment of regional colleges. The Colombian government has also adopted measures to permit the initiation of university institutes in an effort to satisfy regional aspirations. But in the majority of cases, special institutes clash with their parent universities and many research projects are lost in a morass of jealous protectionism and bickering. Furthermore, university faculties are so separate in the major universities that specialists in one field are often inexperienced in working with those from another-a necessity in most regional development projects. The universities have failed to utilize their most obvious source of manpower for urban and rural projects: the students. Even those students who are not in scientific or agriculturalprograms could well teach new agricultural techniques and give instruction in the basic rules of hygiene and birth control. By requiring students to participate in such projects the university would demonstrate that it is geared toward the special problems of its society, and consequently is training its graduates to be aware of them. Today, for lack of university leadership and programs, some of the most activist students are instrumental in guerrilla groups specializing in terror, while the majority of students remain
passive.

The fourth role of the university, that of providing top leadership for the improvement of national education, is also not being well performed. Although certain countries, such as Mexico, specify that their teachers must locate at rural schools during the early part of their careers, there are still shortages of teachers in the more isolated areas throughout Latin America. Improper teaching and supervision of the normal schools also mean that the teachers are often only a few steps ahead of their students. In Colombia, for example, the constitutional reform of 1957 included a ten-year educational development project. "Since only an estimated 25 [percent] of teachers in Colombian primary schools had 282

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had professionalteacher training, facilities were to be provided for the trainingof 9,500 teachersas well as of 2,900 administrators. The trainingof some 11,000 teachersalreadyon the job was also contemplated."7 At the end of the ten years much of the projectremainedto be completed,however. If the universityis performing the quesits functionsso ineffectually, tion arisesas to whetherthis institution is actuallycostingthese societies more than it is worth. Politicalideologistsmay argue that, in the main highlycorrupt, functions jorityof cases, the Latin Americanuniversity undemocratic societies anyway, and should do nothing to halt the inevitabledestruction of those societies.Attemptsat establishing research institutesor public serviceprogramscan be viewed as "sellingout" to the forces of reaction. There are severalresponsesto this argument.Historicaldeterminism aside, there is no reasonto believe that revolutionis inevitablein most of these nations. Mexico, Brazil, Venezuela,Colombia,and Argentina, to name the largercountries,have demonstrated considerable resistance to movementswhich would substantially alter either the ownershipof or the social distancebetweenclasses.Whetherthe university production maintainsits traditional role or moves to a more activistposition, there is little reasonto believethatthe elites will standby quietlyas "People's The militaryregimesin many Latin AmeriRepublics"are proclaimed. can countriestoday are clear evidenceof the nationaland international pressuresto retain the status quo. Thereforeit seems unreasonable to social that can be helped alongby university deny any progress projects. More importantly, educatingpeople and improvingthe conditionsof their lives does not necessarilymake them less revolutionary. Discontented membersof the middle and upper classes have been the leaders of contemporary social movements. At this time some of the most active guerrillasare of upper-classorigins.8It is not the hopeless who make revolutions.9 The university,then, does have certain functions in the developing nationsof LatinAmerica.However,it is not performing these functions at an acceptable level, and thereforeit is not fully servicingthe societies that pay its way. Since few people either within or outside the university seriouslyconsiderabolishingthe institutionas an answerto its dys7 Robert H. Dix, Colombia: The Political Dimensions of Change (New Haven, 1967), p. 151. 8James Petras, "Revolution and Guerrilla Movements in Latin America: Venezuela, Guatemala, Colombia, and Peru," in James Petras and Maurice Zeitlin, eds. Latin America, Reform or Revolution? (Greenwich [Conn.], 1968), pp. 329-69. 9Dix, p. 190: "Sunk in poverty and illiteracy, many Colombians are too apathetic or unaware even to vote." 283

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functions, the question then becomes how to restructure the university so it can reach an optimum level of performance. It is necessary to locate the causes of dysfunction before proceeding to recommend remedies. The two main factors which prevent the university from rendering top performance are: (1) its essentially middleclass character, which leads to alienation among its members; and (2) an intellectual commitment to "university autonomy," which leads to isolation of the university from the rest of the polity. The university has only become a middle-class institution in this century. Before the University Reform Movement began in Argentina in 1918, the universities were bastions of the upper classes. By limiting enrollment and controlling the granting of diplomas to matriculated students only, in a society where a university degree held social as well as professional rewards, the university played an integral part in maintaining the old elite. It is not surprising that the University Reform Movement started in Argentina, where there was a larger middle class than in the other countries of Latin America. But the movement spread rapidly throughout the continent. The strongest support for university reform came from the secondary schools where the curriculum-then as now-was oriented strictly toward entry into a university. The students in the secondary schools were anxious to break down the next barrier to their own upward mobility. Essentially, the students tried to open the universities to the middle classes by making the only entrance requirement the completion of secondary school, by having the students graded solely on examination performance, and by having professors chosen by open competition. Included, too, were provisions for the right of a student to repeat a course many times until he passed the final examination, for direct participation by the students in university administration, and for an increased emphasis on the autonomy of the university. The upgrading of standards was not primary on the list since the students were more concerned with democratic methods than with intellectual performance.10 Except in smaller, less developed countries of Latin America, such as Haiti and Nicaragua, the students and their families achieved what they set out to do. The twentieth century brought forth political parties which represented middle-class interests in many of the larger countries-the Partido Revolucionario Institucional in Mexico, the Union Civica in Argentina, the Radicals in Chile, and Accion Democratica in Venezuela, among others. These parties gained electoral power and, along with it, concessions from the upper classes. Since the largest universities of these
10 John P. Harrison, "Learning and Politics in Latin American Universities," Academy of Political Science, Proceedings, XXVII (May 1964), p. 331. 284

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countrieshave always been state supported,universityadmissions procedures changed as the profilesof the politiciansand voters changed. Althoughthe percentageof secondaryschool age childrenactuallyattendingschool remainslow, and the percentage going on and graduating from the universityeven lower, it is safe to say that today the Latin American a middle-class institution. is essentially university Withinthat universityare reflectedall the weaknessesof the middle classes in Latin America. Certainhistoricaloccurrenceshave inhibited the rise of an independent middleclass. Among them are: the growthof a conthe state apparatus before, and not after,industrial development; gruence in personalitiesbetween the landownersand the commercial class; and a traditionalexpectationof a hierarchical society as experienced in the early elite institutionsof hacienda,church, and military. there middle-class culturemay now be developing,1l Althougha stronger still exists a tendencyfor the middleclassesto emulatethe upperclasses the middle in dress, spendinghabits, and life style. More importantly, classes of Latin America have "steadfastly accepted the legitimacyof oligarchicalauthority, whether it expressed itself in conservativeor civilian or authoritarian, constitutionalist liberal,clericalor anti-clerical, 12 Expectingdecisionto flow down from the or militarygovernments." top, with personalinfluencetakingthe role that pressuregroupswould have in more secular societies, the middle class has never organized itself to curb aristocratic privilegeas it did in parts of Europeand the statussystem,members United States.Insteadof upsettingthe traditional of the Latin Americanmiddle class seek access to those with privilege, causes who will in turn speak for them. This patron-client relationship the middle class to remain disunitedand to practice infightingrather thanbecomingan effectiveagentfor change. The Latin Americanuniversitydisplaysa similar,though more ambivalent attitudetoward authority,and is equally divided within itself Its organization, in terms of primaryinterestand area of responsibility. contribute physical setting, and the psychologicaloutlookof its members than the rather a toward making the university peripheralexperience focal point in its members'lives. Based as it is on the model of the Europeanuniversity,it is a composite of a numberof specializedfaculties rather than a coordinated institution. Each facultyhas its own separatestaff, library,and students, A studentwill usually communication. and thereis little interdisciplinary
" Charles Wagley, "The Dilemma of the Latin American Middle Classes," ibid., p. 310. 12Herbert S. Klein, "The Crisis of Legitimacy and the Origins of Social Revolution: The Bolivian Experience," Journal of Inter-American Studies, X (January 1968), 116. 285

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take all of his course work in one faculty. Furthermore, even if the chairman of a faculty decides that some interdisciplinarywork would be beneficial, separate courses are usually established within the parent faculty, instead of sending the student to take a course in another part of the university. This is partially the fault of physical conditions within the university. The major university in each country is usually located in the middle of the capital city. As the university expands, it often has to move various faculties to different parts of the city, thus increasing the isolation between schools. Residence within the city has a still more deleterious effect from the point of view of the university community; the bonds that physical isolation tend to breed in military camps or monasteries, for example, are dissipated by the constant pulls of city life. Most students live at home rather than in dormitories. so the break with that side of traditional society is not made. Social activities center around the cultural life that the city provides, since almost none are organized by the university. Outside jobs in and around the city help to put students through university careers but also contribute to the time that a student spends away from his studies and university activities. Even the communal misery which often cements ties of friendship around examination time is weakened in most of the universities by a system which allows a student to take tests when he feels prepared for them, rather than at some specified time. Location within the city has its consequences for the professors, too. The prestige symbols held in esteem by the university community are closely related to those of the nonacademic community. Perhaps the most important of these is the emphasis in the bourgeois culture upon material success. Since the professor is notoriously underpaid, yet aspires to the same material benefits as the rest of the urban middle class, he often holds several jobs at once, at the expense both of his teaching and of his interpersonaluniversity relations.'3 With few personal contacts and several competing demands upon his intellect and emotions, the student may view his years at the university as a period of extreme alienation. Studies of politically radical students indicate that a high percentage of these students come from the outlying faculties of the university and do not live at home. The political club, with its camaraderie and intense activity, may serve as a partial substitute for other extracurricularactivities and social events which the university does not provide.'4
13OrlandoAlbornoz, "AcademicFreedom and Higher Education in Latin America," in Seymour Martin Lipset, ed. Student Politics (New York, 1967) p. 290. 14Kenneth N. Walker, "Political Socialization in Universities," in Seymour Martin Lipset and Aldo Solari, eds. Elites in Latin America (New York, 1967), pp. 408-30. 286

Margaret Ann Goodman For those who are not politically active, the closest analogy to their university experience may be to some of the graduate education in the United States, where a sentiment of putting time in and getting it over with is often a pervasive attitude on campus. The students who are career minded rather than politically active may grow increasingly disillusioned with the society, but when they graduate they usually come to terms with it and face up to the realities of daily life. Many students are aware that their careers upon graduation will often involve government work and are thus careful during their undergraduate days not to alienate their future employers.15 Even the radical students are, in a sense, living a contradiction; while they berate society and all its values they are also preparing themselves in the conventional way for getting ahead. It may be argued that location within the capital city should place the university in the center of activities and consequently make its members more aware of the political realities within the nation. Of course, some students are involved with national problems, as the newspaper headlines indicate. But even they do not appeal to the university for support in their efforts to change society. Instead, they make a broad appeal to the masses; but the latter, being disorganized, are not an effective base for political action in Latin America. Only when particular governments have managed simultaneously to alienate large numbers of usually competing groups, such as Marco Perez Jimenez in Venezuela or Fulgencio Batista in Cuba, have the students been able to serve as revolutionary vanguards. It is clear that, although the university is situated close to the political world, it does not prepare its students to act in the latter, mainly because the university itself does not provide them with a natural political base. Appeals to the unorganized masses generally go unheeded in Latin America; but a call from the university, acting in concert, could be very effective. This would entail some idea, shared among faculty, students, and administrators, of what the ultimate purpose of the university is, and how to achieve its goals. It is clear, of course, that a free university cannot stamp its students with a pat ideology. But it can provide them with a realistic picture of the political world outside the university and give them some practical suggestions as to methods to be used to change their society. In order to do this, the university must reject one of the principal tenets of the University Reform Movement: political autonomy. The reasons for autonomy are self-evident. Free scholarship needs freedom from political control. The "temple of the intellect" has been persecuted
15 Dix, p. 349. Also see Myron Glazer, "Las Actitudes y Actividades Politicas de los Estudiantesde la Universidadde Chile," Aportes, V (July 1967), 42-79. 287

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by politicians as often as spiritual temples and thus there is no reason to wonder at academic suspicion of politicians. The universities of Latin America have insisted that their walls be sacrosanct, that the police not be permitted to enter, and that asylum be granted to politicians who wish to use university buildings as a retreat. Such asylum has been granted on occasion. More often, governments have closed universities as a result of statements obnoxious to the regime, have fired professors at such critical times as a sudden change of government, and have even arrested and shot university faculty and students if matters became too far out of hand. If there is some public outcry at the mishandling of university personnel, there is little said when governments crack down on the secondary schools which are the breeding grounds of future campus politicians. In the provinces, where there ar'e no universities, the secondary schools may be the only places where political agitation takes place.l6 In short, autonomy has been honored more in the breach than in the practice. Realistically, this is to be expected since the prime requisite for autonomy is power, which the university has not sought to attain. It has relied, instead, on the good will and respect in which the university should theoretically be held. However, the fact that it insists upon autonomy clearly indicates that the university itself has severe doubts about such good will. Substantive arguments may be made as to why the universities in developed countries should assume relatively apolitical roles. For one thing, there is sufficient communication within the intellectual community as well as organization and trained personnel outside of it to articulate the ideas of the intellegentsia without the university's becoming involved. Power in developed countries is centralized in an effective government and citizens have many points of access to policy makers. Graduates of the universities may directly or indirectly represent the latters' goals to government. Yet, even here, the universities which have failed to build support for themselves-both within, as identifiable institutions with specific social purposes, and without, inside ghetto communities or other parts of the population not normally acquainted with university procedures-are running into difficulties as the working classes demand more of a say in choosing governmental priorities. In Latin America, where there are few cross-cutting pressure groups and interests are represented directly by those concerned, it is patently absurd to rely on others for political representation. Autonomy has too often meant political isolation rather than intellectual freedom. For a body that is dependent on funds from the governle Aldo Solari, "SecondaryEducation and the Development of Elites," in Lipset and Solari, pp. 457-83.
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ment, the only alternative to submission is sufficient community support to counteract any negative acts performed by politicians. Free speech is bought with political power, not by denying politics. What the Latin American university system needs, then, is both a legal and a physical restructuring to break down barriers between the students and professors in the various faculties, and a psychological commitment to community involvement rather than political autonomy. These two essentials could be accomplished by decreasing the functions of the major university in the capital city and, correspondingly, increasing the use of regional multipurpose institutes which would specialize in the problems of their particular regions and be a source of intellectual manpower for their areas. Within such a program, the majority of students could study one or two years in the central university, taking background courses in their fields, and could then continue in some sort of work-study program in the region of their choice. The central university would remain a school for introductory study; the center for specialized schools that are expensive to duplicate, such as medicine; a center for advanced study and research; and a coordinating institution for the research done at the local levels. Regional institutes could specialize in public health, social work, and agricultural problems, with students and faculty participating in community projects. Such measures would put the university in a much stronger position to influence policy. Not only would the curriculum be geared to the needs of the society; but through the projects, a client group for the university would be developed as well. All of this posits a major reorganization of the university system, which would necessarily entail official government support both for its financing and implementation. Not only would politicians have to favor such a plan; but major areas of the bureaucracy which are already operating at the regional level would have to be convinced that the programs would be of assistance to them, rather than a threat to their existence. Since the senior faculty benefit most by the present system, the logical activists for change are the younger faculty, who serve under an arbitrary promotion system, and the students, who are willing to channel their energies into improving the system rather than attempting to overthrow it. The locus of outside support for changing the university would differ in each country, depending upon the political situation, existing political institutions, and the historical relationship between the university and the elites. In Mexico, for example, the students have generally proved manageable. The 1968 student incident, which started over a minor squabble and, through a series of blunders, blew up into major proportions, is 289

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the deviation rather than the rule. A strong central party, the PRI (Partido Revolucionario Institucional), has taken pains to establish contact with student organization leaders and an air of opportunism pervades student-government negotiations.17One assumes that faculty-government relationships are also relatively negotiable. The university, in other words, is not regarded as an imminent threat to existing institutions; nor are the majority of students seen as intransigent troublemakers. Under these circumstances, an arrangement between the government and the university could be made that would help to meet that country's development needs without overly straining the current university system. Since the Luis Echeverria government is stressing the agrarian side of the economy, a transfer of students to the countryside could be a natural part of its program. A vast federal and state bureaucracy already exists in the agricultural zones in Mexico. Students could thus serve as interns at an appropriate agency. For example, future lawyers could be situated at the Departmento de Asuntos Agrarios y Colonizacion, which handles problems of land ownership, while engineers could be assigned to the Secretaria de Recursos Hidraulicos, which handles problems of irrigation and potable water. The students could be incorporated into the field operations of these agencies to the benefit of both. Weekly seminars of all students in a particular region with professors from the regional university would serve to generate new ideas. They would also perform the very valuable function of providing information as to how these agencies function as a team, since the latter have been notably lacking in forms of coordination.18Subsequently, seminars with faculty, students, and administratorscould be scheduled. Such procedures would build strong ties between the intellectual institutions of Mexico and the policy-making organs. No one should be distressed if the ties seemingly develop to the point of co-optation. For it can be argued that the university community will be in a stronger position to influence policy if regularized channels of communication are established than if it proceeds as it now does, graduating students who trickle individually into the bureaucracy, and get lost in a sea of red tape. In a country such as Venezuela, historical precedent will make it much harder for the government and the university to reach agreement with one another. Although students in Venezuela have played an active role in that country's political history, theirs has been essentially an
7ArthurLiebman, "StudentActivism in Mexico," The Annals (May 1971), pp. 159-71. 18This is the author's observation from field work done in Yucatan, Mexico, in 1971.

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antigovernment movement.l9Studentswere leaders in strugglesagainst Juan Vicente Gomez and Perez Jimenez Marcos. They were used in 1958 by provisionalpresidentWolfgangLarrazabal to help prevent a right-wingmilitary coup. Almost all politicians, including Presidents Raul Leoni and Romulo Betancourt, beganpoliticalactivityin the unior in the military. versitystudentmovement Yet, when one of its own, Romulo Betancourt,was elected to the presidencyin 1958, he was unable to maintainthe supportof the student movement.Betancourtcompromised his agrarianreformplatform with the landed interestsin Venezuela, and refused to nationalizethe largely United States-owned (90 percent) petroleum industry from which Venezuela receives 90 percent of its export earnings and 65 percent of governmentrevenues (Venezuela is allotted 48 percent of the industry'searnings) .20 The students remained adamant in their demands for reforms,forminga guerrilla the FALN (Fuerzas movement, Armadasde Liberacion based on nationalism and anti-North Nacional) Americanism. former the student Betancourt, leader, prohibitedsecondschool and fired to 1,000 teachers at the close ary political activity and for levels primary secondary allegedly disseminating foreign doctrines. The guerrillamovement in Venezuela still fundamentally emanates from the university.Radical universitystudents (probably not more than 10 percentof the entire studentbody) have been isolated in their revolutionaryactivities, however. They have been unable to attract eitherlaboror the morepoliticizedcampesinos becausethese two groups are controlledby the government.These studentshave not had continuous connectionwith outside groups and have remainedapartfrom the existingpoliticalparties.Oftenpersecuted, alwaysalienated,students haveremained eitheranarchistic, Maoist,or Castroist. The universityfaculty and administrators could provide a bridge by which these studentscould participate in some meaningful way in their country's developmentwithout compromisingthemselves by working As part of with what they considerto be an antinational government. the regularcourserequirements, studentscould be given an opportunity to work with newly migratedcity groups on urban employmentproblems, and on rural health and economic projects.A programof this naturewould give these studentsa realisticview of the problemsand alternatives involved in developmentprograms.Politicianscould probably be coaxed into supportingsuch projects if the universityfaculty
19Orlando Albornoz, "Activismo Politico Estudiantil en Venezuela," Aportes, V (July 1967), 10-41. '0 James Petras, Politics and Social Structure in Latin America (New York, 1970), p. 92. 291

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assured them that the projects would be organized to provide field experience for students and technological aid for client groups, with all endeavors made to avoid ideological propaganda. Ideas emanating from the projects should be transcribed and presented at regular intervals to bureaucrats and politicians. Similar projects could be initiated in the other Latin American countries, with allowances made for the individual political situations. A final suggestion has to do with some of those countries that are now under military governments. In both Brazil and Argentina the students tried to halt coups which placed generals in political office, although in Argentina the students only protested after the government intervened in the university. In both countries the students were unable either to prevent the takeovers or to stop the curtailment of university political activity which the military government required. Since "it is possible that conditions for mass political mobilization even on concrete issues will become difficult and that the trend away from clientele politics will be reversed" 21 in these countries, the most profitable path for the university community would be to utilize whatever personal influence its individual members have with government officials in order to establish development projects under university supervision. At least in this way, the university could maintain communication with other groups in the nation instead of acting purely as a training center for personnel to maintain the status quo. The university community has intellectual resources that are available only in limited supply within these countries. By remaining outside the political arena, it is shortchanging itself in terms of the influence it might wield over its nation's development course, and shortchanging society by not keeping in step with the latter's changing needs. In order for the university to perform a creative role, it must be plugged into political realities and work with existing regimes. Community projects will bring curriculum up to a serviceable level, and yield the extra benefits of developing a clientele for the university which will add to its political muscle. The initiation of such programs will necessarily entail compromise with regimes which are not always in accord with either faculty or student desires. One of the shortcomings of the political systems of Latin America has been the inability of important groups to make personal compromises in order that the general polity might benefit. The university could become a leader in demonstrating how short-term compromises may lead to the achievement of long-term goals.
21 Ibid, p. 31. 292