Bicentennial Generation: How Young People Made History in the Context of a Pandemic and Authoritarian Crisis

Janice Stiglich, Rutgers University

A few days after Joe Biden was declared President Elect of the 2020 U.S. elections, Peru’s majority in Congress declared President Martín Vizacarra unfit for office which sent the nation into chaos. In one week, there was an unconfirmed de facto President, a nationwide protest, four deaths, and the resignation of Manuel Merino. The protestors, a group that on social media is termed ‘generación del bicentenario’ are largely responsible for having shifted their government back into democratic stability. These young people, having learned to rapidly share moments of police instigation from the Black Lives Matter Movement, acted to halt the forthcoming authoritarian regime. This paper is based on analysis of this moment in history and how youth leaders used social media to identify, disperse, and affect change the Peruvian society.

No extended abstract or paper available

 Presented in Session 187. Youth Activism