The Oldest University in America turns 475

The Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos (UNMSM), the oldest university in the Americas, celebrated the 475th anniversary of its founding on May 12. The celebrations, however, were interrupted by a student occupation that lasted two weeks and ended on May 26.

Students mobilized in opposition to Bill 12736, introduced in Congress on May 7. The bill would permit the immediate re-election of rectors, vice-rectors, and deans at public universities, a measure critics argue would mainly benefit current authorities.

Opposition to the proposal extended beyond San Marcos. The association representing the rectors of Peru's public universities, which includes 20 institutions, issued an official statement rejecting the bill and defending democratic alternation and respect for electoral processes already underway across the country.

At UNMSM, much of the opposition has centered on fears that the legislation could facilitate the re-election of current rector Jeri Ramón. Elected in 2021, Ramón became the first woman to hold the position in the university's 475-year history.

The latest protests are not the first to occur during her administration. In October 2024, students occupied the university over alleged irregularities in internal elections and demanded that the process be annulled.

According to the protesters, elections for student representatives and authorities to the Faculty Council, University Council, and University Assembly were marred by irregularities, including the disqualification of certain candidate lists. Students also alleged that Rector Ramón exercised influence over the Electoral Committee in order to perpetuate her administration by favoring the re-election of allied student representatives. Despite the presence of the Peruvian National Police (PNP), violent clashes during the occupation left at least five people injured. Students circulated videos showing assaults allegedly carried out by individuals unrelated to the university's security personnel.

Later, Rector Ramón acknowledged that "third parties" had been hired to help protect the university during the final hours of the confrontation. However, she denied responsibility, stating that she did not know whether individuals outside the authorized security team had entered the campus.

Geraldine Romero Huamani, a Social Communication student interviewed for this article, recalled previous confrontations.

"The protests escalate because of police repression (...), infiltrators damage the students' image (...), and physical abuse, such as beatings that result in fainting and more," she said.

UNMSM, as a public university, is often regarded as a reflection of broader Peruvian society. Romero also criticized what she perceives as bias in the country's media coverage of student movements.

"They create a narrative in which the students are the ones who initiate the conflict," she said.

During the two-week occupation, another wave of protests emerged at the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru (PUCP), a prestigious private institution located roughly fifteen minutes from UNMSM. PUCP is often viewed as a counterpart to San Marcos, attracting students from relatively more affluent sectors of Peruvian society.

Although anger over tuition increases implemented without prior consultation sparked demonstrations at PUCP, the two movements were unrelated.

"It was mostly just memes making fun of two similar events, but they're unrelated," Romero, who also studies at PUCP, said.

Following negotiations between student leaders and university authorities, a resolution was reached that included several agreements: no retaliation against protesting students, authorities accepted the participation of a representative from the student federation in the University Council and University Assembly, and internal elections were suspended and ordered to begin again from scratch.

The occupation imposed significant costs on the university community. Taking place during finals week, it disrupted academic activities and affected thousands of students preparing for examinations. While many regarded the measure as necessary to prevent what they viewed as an attempt to entrench current authorities, others criticized both the timing and the consequences of the protest, revealing divisions within the student body over tactics rather than objectives.

Yet for supporters of the movement, the occupation represented more than a political protest. Some students celebrated it as an expression of resistance and community building. One social media account dedicated to documenting past occupations and protest movements at UNMSM described the experience in the following terms:

"Only the people can save the people. To resist is to weave community. Amid pots and donations, between hands that cook and hands that distribute, the hope of a public university that refuses to surrender is sustained. The occupation also resonates in art: in the music that ignites spirits, in the collages that raise awareness, in the clowning and puppetry, and in the dances that remind us that we are still alive. Because without human warmth, without shared laughter, no struggle could endure."

As San Marcos marked nearly five centuries of history, the latest occupation underscored the persistent tensions surrounding governance, representation, and democratic legitimacy within Peru's oldest and maybe most important university.