The mobilization for the establishment of a Federal University in the east of São Paulo: an analysis from the perspective of social movements

Abstract

The objective of this paper is to analyze the creation, mobilization and negotiation process of the Movimento pela Universidade Federal na Zona Leste in the city of São Paulo, which campaigns for the implementation of a campus of the Universidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP) in that region. It is a popular social movement whose origins date back to the 1940s, when mobilizations in the area started demanding public services. In the 1980s, local claims incorporated the demand for higher education as well. Over the subsequent two decades, the population was successful, obtaining the implementation of a School of Technology (FATEC) and a unit of the Universidade de São Paulo, called “USP-Leste”, both under the responsibility of the state government. The methodology focused on primary sources, using interviews with local leaders and activists, minutes of the UNIFESP University Council, and data obtained from the press and bibliographic research.