Memory And Youth in Ayacucho, Spaces for Socialization and Construction of Meanings of the Internal Armed Conflict

Abstract

The article analyzed how young people from Ayacucho constructed meanings about the Internal Armed Conflict (IAC) through socialization spaces such as family, friends, educational institutions, and the media. Using a qualitative phenomenological approach and interviews with seven young leaders from youth organizations, it was found that family narratives, especially those passed down by mothers and grandparents, played a key role in reconstructing fragmented and emotionally charged memories. Friendships, university spaces, and access to audiovisual productions further reinforced these memories, allowing young people to reinterpret the conflict with a critical perspective. Although their accounts reflected the influence of fear, poverty, and the pursuit of structural change, contradictions also emerged due to the lack of public policies on historical memory. It was concluded that youth organizations emerged as vital platforms for the collective reconstruction of the past, promoting inclusive narratives and generating innovative proposals that strengthened identity and the search for justice in the post-conflict context.