Camilo Torres Restrepo, Educator for Hope

In light of the recent discovery of the remains of Jorge Camilo Torres Restrepo, an educator, priest, and sociologist who was assassinated by General Álvaro Valencia Tovar in Patio Cemento, Santander, on February 15, 1966, we would like to shed light on his life. He sowed hope by teaching the concept of “effective love,” understood as a commitment to transforming unjust conditions and advancing toward a dignified life, both materially and spiritually. Camilo Torres Restrepo was a prominent ethical, intellectual, academic, and political thinker. His life is often analyzed from the perspective of his priesthood and subsequent decision to join the guerrilla movement amid the persecution of critical thinkers, popular sectors, and escalating violence. However, to understand his thinking and actions, it is also essential to consider his legacy as an educator. He contributed to two related areas: public higher education and popular education. Both areas are linked by his belief in the transformative power of education and the construction of situated knowledge.

His Impact on Public Higher Education

After studying sociology at KU Leuven in Belgium and immersing himself in critical sociological trends and progressive social Catholicism, Torres returned to Colombia in 1959. There, he was appointed assistant chaplain at the Universidad Nacional de Colombia. However, he is best known as the founder of the first Sociology Faculty in Latin America, established with the help of intellectuals such as Orlando Fals Borda, Eduardo Umaña Luna, and María Cristina Salazar.

Camilo promoted an educational revolution from the faculty. Breaking with the traditional academic model, he promoted applied sociology committed to the idea of change, as reflected in his analyses of reality and his methodologies for social intervention. He took his students directly into the marginalized neighborhoods of Bogotá so they could analyze issues such as housing, forced displacement, and urban poverty in situ. His concept of university education was interdisciplinary and socially focused. For example, he played a key role in establishing the University Movement for Community Promotion and the Interfaculty Council for Community Development. These organizations channeled knowledge from various disciplines toward solving community issues, laying the foundation for what is now widely recognized as university outreach.

His Imprint on Popular Education for Hope

In line with his university studies and as part of his quest for social change methods, he refined a robust approach to popular education. He defined popular education as a process of raising awareness, organizing, and developing an alternative project for the “popular class.” This approach promoted community leadership in shaping their own realities.

From his Dean’s Office at the Escuela Superior de Administración Pública (ESAP), Torres promoted the government’s community action plans. He regarded these plans as educational tools that would empower communities to organize, enforce new rights, and defend and reinvent themselves. He believed that citizens could become agents of their own social change project by developing solutions to their most pressing issues through education and organization. His commitment to democratizing knowledge led him to conduct a sociological evaluation of the Radio Schools of Popular Cultural Action, also known as Radio Sutatenza. While he acknowledged the value of their technical literacy programs, he contended that their approach was apolitical and perpetuated the status quo by sidestepping questions about the systems that perpetuate inequality. He believed that true popular education should be critical and political, as well as liberating. It should be capable of revealing power relations and fostering social mobilization.

Camilo Torres’ Educational Legacy: A Synopsis

The institutional persecution that drove him away from the Universidad Nacional in 1965 did not diminish his devotion to education. Instead, he expanded his efforts on a broader scale. The establishment of the United People’s Front and its eponymous newspaper can be seen as the pinnacle of his national educational project. Through these outlets, he used his talents as a speaker and writer to educate impoverished communities about the structural causes of social injustice and offered a program of radical reforms.

Camilo Torres Restrepo is remembered for consistently connecting theory and practice, academia, and the people. He advocated that sociology is not a neutral science; rather, it should serve the oppressed. He viewed education as a political act of liberation. His life and work remain key reference points for critical thinking, committed sociology, and liberation theology. His ideas have inspired generations of intellectuals, popular educators, and grassroots communities who believe that knowledge is essential for building a dignified society.

We invite you to visit the exhibition “Camilo Torres Restrepo, 60y100pre”, arranged by the Universidad Pedagógica Nacional, Utopix, the Frente Unido Collective, and the Casa de las Américas. The exhibition features the work of artists from seven countries and showcases Camilo Torres’ transformative educational approach through graphic pieces.