Líber Arce

Líber Walter Arce Risotto (30 October 1938 – 14 August 1968 ) was the first student killed by police forces in Uruguay under the government of Jorge Pacheco Areco.

Líber Arce was a student at the Dental Prosthetics School of the University of the Republic's Faculty of Dentistry, and worked at a street market with his parents. He was also a militant of the Dentistry Student Center, the (FEUU), and the Union of Communist Youth (UJC) from the age of 19, with whom he demonstrated for democracy, social justice, and solidarity with peoples fighting for liberation.

The Central Board of the University of the Republic denounced all the damage caused, the theft of teaching material, documentation, and all the files with the students' personal data. Student outrage broke out in the form of daily clashes as a consequence of the violation of . The demonstrations were made in inorganic form, in different parts of the city, causing a great strain on the police. The loss of blood caused anemia, hypovolemia, and successive cardiac arrests throughout the next day. In spite of everything, the doctors managed to stop the hemorrhage and a vascular graft was performed to repair the artery sectioned by the shot. However, all efforts were in vain. Líber Arce died on 14 August.

Symbol

Since 1968, 14 August has been adopted by the Uruguayan student movement (university and secondary) as Student Martyrs Day.

After the return to democracy, General Prim Street (in homage to the Spanish military officer and politician Juan Prim, 1814–1870) was renamed Líber Arce. The street begins at the doors of the Veterinary School and passes behind the municipal zoo of .