Various members of the party felt that the Union Party was not doing enough for the cause of Puerto Rican independence. In 1919, José Coll y Cuchí quit the party and with his followers founded "Asociación Nacionalista de Puerto Rico" (English: Nationalist Association) in San Juan. The Nationalist Association had a youth group called the "Juventud Nacionalista" (English: Nationalist Youth) which was at that time presided over by José Paniagua. The Nationalist Youth was then composed of students from the University of Puerto Rico and high school students.