The Transnational Impact of La Misión Social: Students and Workers in Uruguay, 1950–70

During the early Cold War, Uruguayan university students were keenly aware of the broader social, economic, and political concerns of the general public.  In fact, the Federation of Uruguayan University Students (FEUU) at the University of the Republic in Montevideo proudly proclaimed their commitment to improving society, calling it their “misión social.” While initially intending to share knowledge from the University, students quickly realized that they also had much to learn from the workers themselves, laying the groundwork for a strong relationship between students and the labor sector throughout the 1950s and 60s.  Students attended labor union meetings, supported strikes, and participated in marches alongside workers, becoming vocal advocates for unions and workers’ rights movements.  Reciprocally, union members were important allies in winning the fight for University autonomy in 1958, regularly attending student meetings, offering advice on bargaining strategies, and participating in marches.  This mutually beneficial relationship flourished, often employing the phrase “workers and students, united and forward.”  As a result of these interactions, students drew connections between the poor labor conditions of their compatriots and the inadequacies of the capitalist system, fueling their growing resistance to the global Cold War binary.  Thus, their relationship with workers moved students beyond a local connection and into a global framework, joining worker solidarity movements throughout Latin America and Europe while simultaneously challenging the nature of the economic systems of capitalism and communism.  This paper will explore the relationship between students and workers in Uruguay, highlighting how domestic experiences were intertwined with transnational ideologies and movements for social change during the 1950s and 60s.