The College of Mexico

El Colegio de México, A. C. (COLMEX) is a Mexican public university dedicated to research, higher education and dissemination in the areas of social sciences and humanities. It is part of the System of Public Research Centers of the National Council of Science and Technology (Conacyt).

It was founded in 1940 and had as its immediate predecessor the House of Spain in Mexico (1938-1940), created from the circumstances of the Spanish republican exile in Mexico. In 1998, it became an autonomous institution. In 2001, he was awarded the Prince of Asturias Prize for Social Sciences.

The institution is made up of seven study centers, which in total provide three bachelor's degrees, seven master's degrees and eight doctorates. The admission process is rigorous, and due to this the admission rate to its programs is, on average, 14% (in 2018). In addition, it has one of the libraries specialized in social sciences (including an extensive collection of literature) most important in Latin America (more than 665 thousand volumes).^{[citation required]}

History

The House of Spain in Mexico

To know the origins of the Colegio de México, it is necessary to refer to the House of Spain in Mexico (1938-1940). Germ of the College of Mexico, refuge of Spanish republican intellectuals, origin and achievement of great academic works, renewer of Mexican culture, the House of Spain in Mexico occupies, in its own right, an eminent place in the scientific development of Mexico. The Spanish government recognized, during its visit to this institution in 2019, on the occasion of the eightieth anniversary of the first landing of Spanish refugees in Mexico, the contribution of the Republican exile in the institution and in the country. In March 1939, the then president of the Republic, Lázaro Cárdenas del Río, appointed Alfonso Reyes Ochoa president of the House of Spain and its board of trustees. The latter was definitively formed by Eduardo Villaseñor Ángeles, Undersecretary of the Treasury, representing the government; Gustavo Baz Prada, rector of the National Autonomous University of Mexico; Enrique Arreguín, on behalf of the Ministry of Public Education, and Daniel Cosío Villegas, as secretary of the board and La Casa, and second on board. In its old building, on Guanajuato Street, it had a motto chosen by Silvio Zavala carved: "Libenter impartio mea, nongravatim accipio meliora" (Utopia, Thomas More); which translated into Spanish reads as: "I gladly offer what belongs to me, but I do not mind accepting better suggestions.

Founders

The founders laid the foundations on which, starting in October 1940, El Colegio de México was built. Daniel Cosío Villegas came up with the idea of the House of Spain, which had the support of President Lázaro Cárdenas who endorsed the idea of the arrival of Spanish intellectuals at the end of 1936. The process for the constitution of The House of Spain in Mexico was consolidated in July 1938, the date on which the decree of its creation was issued. The first Spaniard to arrive in Mexico was the philosopher José Gaos, who was followed by the poet and literary critic Enrique Díez-Canedo, the art critic Juan de la Encina, the psychiatrist Gonzalo R. Lafora, the folklorist Jesús Bal y Gay, the oncologist Isaac Costero, the musicologist Adolfo Salazar, the philosopher María Zambrano and the bibliographer and Latinist Agustín Millares Carlo. In addition to them, the poet León Felipe, the art historian José Moreno Villa and the jurist Luis Recaséns Siches, who were already in our country for various reasons, joined La Casa.

The transformation process took about a year, between September and October 1940, El Colegio de México was established. At first, El Colegio chose to offer only postgraduate degrees and its academics dedicated themselves more to research. The decision was made to specifically privilege teaching and research in the humanities and social sciences, which implied that physicists, chemists, biologists and doctors were separated from the institution, who were integrated into the National University, the National Polytechnic Institute or in hospital institutions. Musicians, painters and literary creators also retired; it was León Felipe to be the first to leave La Casa.

Alfonso Reyes

The first president Alfonso Reyes, for almost twenty years and until his death, on December 27, 1959, presided uninterruptedly and tirelessly over this great cultural and academic work; Reyes dedicated the time and passion that he stole from literary creation; In the words of Clara E. Lida: "two loves lived with the same devotion."

Daniel Cosío Villegas

The intelligent and energetic support of Daniel Cosío Villegas, secretary of El Colegio during its first years, was also decisive. Although since 1948 his presence at the institution was intermittent, as he shared his enormous vitality and energy with various other cultural and political activities, his influence at El Colegio de México intensified for five years, first as director (1958-1959) and then, upon the death of Reyes, from January 1960 to January 1963, as second president.

Silvio Zavala

Silvio Zavala, third president of the College (1963–1966), was a member of that first College for many years and, in his own right, must be considered a founder, since in 1941 he created the Center for Historical Studies, the oldest of the institution. During his brief years as president, he continued the plans drawn up by Cosío Villegas to create other centers and expand the physical plant.

At the meeting of the Governing Board on January 16, 1961, Daniel Cosío Villegas requested the modification of the Constitutive Act of El Colegio to incorporate section f to article 1 and add to its objectives the provision of teaching at the university level, post-professional or special, in the branches of humanistic knowledge and social and political sciences, and the appropriate bodies were created to achieve these purposes and the corresponding diplomas, titles and degrees were granted, in accordance with the plans and approved institution study programs.

Victor L. Urquidi

Víctor L. Urquidi presided over El Colegio de México from 1966 to 1985. He also knew the first Colegio, in whose Center for Social Studies he participated between 1943 and 1946 as a professor. Later, encouraged by Cosío Villegas, he was directly responsible for the creation in 1964 of the Center for Economic and Demographic Studies. During his years as president, he promoted the development of other centers: Sociological Studies, Economics, now detached from demography, and the creation of a new Center for Demographic Studies and Urban Development; He also promoted research programs dedicated to topics linked to the national reality. At the same time, although his personal interests were economic and population studies, he never turned his back on other humanistic and social disciplines, and continued to vigorously support the other already established centers.

New address: Ajusco

In 1976, El Colegio moved from home to the building on Camino al Ajusco, where it has resided since then. Since that date, its teaching and administrative staff has been gradually increasing, as well as the number of researchers and scholarship holders. Likewise, it has continued with its prestigious publications program. In 1978, a general regulation was approved that guided the activities of the institution for more than twenty years. In December 2002, the Organic Statute was approved, which can be consulted on the institution's website.

Mario Ojeda Gómez

Mario Ojeda Gómez was appointed president on September 20, 1985, and held the position until 1995. A founding member of the Center for International Studies, he supervised the operation of El Colegio de México and its various centers with balance and kindness. He had a difficult time in terms of the national economy and politics. During his administration, important improvements were made to the institution, including the construction of the fifth level of offices, classrooms and a seminary.

Andrés Lira González

In 1995, Andrés Lira González was appointed president, and he held that position until September 2005. During his administration, in 1998, institutional autonomy was obtained; The Academic Council was launched—since 2003—and important improvements were achieved to the infrastructure of the building, the library and general services. Likewise, new academic programs were inaugurated.

Javier Garciadiego Dantán

Javier Garciadiego Dantán, historian, was appointed president on September 20, 2005, and his term ended on September 19, 2015.

List of presidents

Research and teaching centers

Center for Historical Studies (CEH)

He specializes in the history of Mexico and Latin America. It was the first study center of the school, founded in 1941 by Silvio Zavala, its first director between 1941 and 1950. It has the educational program of Doctorate in History and teaches the "summer course Summer school in conceptual history" and the "permanent seminar on social history." He is in charge of the quarterly specialized magazine Historia Mexicana published since 1951 on the topics already mentioned and also publishes the collection of books "Historias minimalas" on various topics of Mexican and world history. His current director is Pablo Yankelevich.

Center for Linguistic and Literary Studies (CELL)

He specializes in Hispanic literature and linguistics of Spanish and the indigenous languages of Mexico. The idea of founding a center dedicated to literature and philology was present since the founding of the school: in 1941 with the creation of the New Magazine of Hispanic Philology the following year the Study Center Philologicalby Alfonso Reyes Ochoa and Raimundo Lida and in 1963 with the creation of the Doctorate in Hispanic Linguistics and Literature, which would later be divided, it acquired its current name. It has three educational programs: the Master's Degree in Translation - oriented mainly to English and French -, the Doctorate in Linguistics and the Doctorate in Hispanic Literature; and teaches the "Linguistics and Education seminar." He edits the aforementioned Nueva Revista de Filología Hispánica and has published important works on the subject such as the Linguistic Atlas of Mexico, the Cancionero folklorico de México and the Mexican Spanish Dictionary and develops the Lingmex bibliographic database. Its current director is Alfonso Medina Urrea.

Center for International Studies (CEI)

He specializes in political theory, international relations, public administration and comparative politics on Mexico, Latin America, Anglo-Saxon America, Europe and Western Asia. It was founded in 1960 by Daniel Cosío Villegas with the aim of training Mexican diplomats capable of facing the political scenario of their time. It teaches four educational programs: the Bachelor's Degree in International Relations and the Bachelor's Degree in Politics and the Master's Degree in Political Science and the Doctorate in Political Science; and directs the “Mexico-United States-Canada Program” (PROMEC). It publishes the quarterly specialized magazine Foro Internacional published since 1960 and its most important published work has been Mexico and the world: History of its foreign relations in eight volumes between 1990 and 1991. Its current director is Jean François Prud'homme.

Center for Asian and African Studies (CEAA)

It specializes in the study of society, culture, history, internal politics and international relations, literature, languages, philosophy and religions of the countries of Asia and Africa. Its predecessor is the Section of Oriental Studies in 1960 but it would not be until 1964 when the Center for Oriental Studies was founded with the aim of establishing ties between Asia and Africa with Latin America with the support of UNESCO as part of the "Greater East-West Project". To date it is the only institution on Asian studies in Mexico and one of the few of its kind in Latin America. It is divided into six areas of specialization: Africa—Sub-Saharan Africa —, Middle East —includes Western Asia and North Africa—, South Asia, China, Japan and Southeast Asia. Its only educational program is the Master's Degree in Asian and African Studies and due to its interdisciplinary nature, its students come from other majors such as history, political science, literature, philosophy, anthropology, sociology, among others. It is in charge of the quarterly magazine Studies of Asia and Africa and the annual Asia Pacific Yearbook on the Asia-Pacific region, published since 1966 and 1993, respectively. Language courses in Arabic, Mandarin Chinese, Hindi, Indonesian, Japanese, Sanskrit and Swahili are taught at the center. Its current director is José Antonio Cervera Jiménez.

Center for Economic Studies (CEE)

He specializes in theoretical and applied economic science. It was founded in 1964 as the Center for Economic and Demographic Studies at the initiative of Víctor L. Urquidi with the objective of strengthening teaching and research on economics and population in Mexico and Latin America and was the first institution in the country with a postgraduate degree in Economics; In 1981, due to its high demand, its division into two was approved and it acquired its current name. It has the educational programs of Bachelor's Degree - created for the center's 50th anniversary -, Master's Degree and Doctorate in Economics. The center awards the Víctor L. Urquidi prize. It publishes the biannual specialized magazine Estudios Economías since 1986. Its current director is Alejandro I. Castañeda Sabido.

Center for Sociological Studies (CES)

He specializes in sociological theory, social movements and civil organizations, economic and work sociology, family, gender, politics, education, religion and culture. It was founded in 1973 during the presidency of the school of Víctor L. Urquidi (1966-1985) at the initiative of him and Rodolfo Stavenhagen, the first director of the center between 1973 and 1976, who had already been invited by Urquidi since 1967 for the necessary work. for the foundation of the center with the objective of expanding knowledge in the social sciences for the reflection and study of the social problems of Mexico and Latin America, in addition to the limited offer of postgraduate degrees in sociology at the time of its foundation. It has the educational programs of Master's and Doctorate in Social Science with a specialty in Sociology and teaches the seminar "Seven wrong theses on Latin America." It has edited the quarterly magazine Sociological Studies since 1983. Its current director is Liliana Rivera Sánchez.

Center for Demographic, Urban and Environmental Studies (CEDUA)

It was founded in 1964, with the name Center for Economic and Demographic Studies (CEED). Given the considerable increase in its research and teaching activities, it was divided in 1981, and gave rise to the Center for Demographic and Urban Development Studies (CEDDU) and the Center for Economic Studies. In 2004, it was approved to institutionalize the field of environmental studies linked to the population and urban development, which gave rise to the emergence of the Center for Demographic, Urban and Environmental Studies (CEDUA). Aimed at teaching and research around demographic phenomena and urban problems, it offers four teaching programs: a master's degree in demography, a doctorate in population studies, a master's degree in urban studies and a doctorate in urban and environmental studies, in addition to the publication of the magazine Demographic and Urban Studies.

Center for Gender Studies (CEG)

It was founded in 1983 as the Interdisciplinary Women's Studies Program (PIEM), becoming one of the first research centers dedicated to gender studies in Latin America. In 1998 it joined the Center for Sociological Studies and In 2018 it was renamed the Interdisciplinary Program for Gender Studies (PIEG). On July 30, 2021, its transformation into the Center for Gender Studies (CEG) was approved. The center offers the Master's program in Gender Studies and edits the Interdisciplinary Journal of Gender Studies of El Colegio de México. Its current director is Ana María Tepichin Valle.

Chairs

• Chair Franco-Mexicana François Chevalier / Silvio Zavala
• Chair Jean Bourgeois-Pichat (cedua)
• Chair Mexico-Spain (ceh)
• Chair Humboldt

Daniel Cosío Villegas Library

The Library "Daniel Cosío Villegas" It began its work in 1940 and was named, in 1976, after one of the founders of the institution. To date, its collection includes more than 700 thousand volumes, covering an enormous collection of works in multiple languages, in addition to approximately 8 thousand titles of periodical publications. It offers its users online access services to a large number of databases and other electronic resources. On Monday, May 23, 2016, an extension to the building was inaugurated, with an area of almost 4,000 square meters. The new building is named after Mario Ojeda Gómez, in honor of one of the presidents of the institution.

Dialogues and Other Dialogues Magazine

Directed by the writer and intellectual Ramón Xirau, it was described by José María Espinasa as one of the most relevant magazines of the second half of the century XX in Mexico.

Historical archive

The historical archive, officially called the Institutional Archive, stores photographs and documents related to the origins and development of Colmex.

The Colmex Choir

The Colmex Choir is a non-professional choral group created from a joint initiative by María Eugenia Negrete Salas, a graduate of the institution's master's degree in urban development (since 1983, professor-researcher at the Center for Demographic, Urban and Environmental Studies), by Javier Garciadiego Dantán (president of the institution in 2005-2015) and the guitarist Raúl Zambrano, its founding director, with the aim of offering the community near Colmex a space for artistic expression, especially in music. It was initially directed by the Peruvian-Mexican singing teacher Aurelio Tello and by Raúl Zambrano himself; performed for the first time on Thursday, May 17, 2012, performing six works from the Cancionero de Upsala, and in subsequent presentations he has offered works from the Cancionero de Palacio, songs related to the Spanish Civil War and, also, Christmas and non-Christmas carols and popular songs from diverse cultures, in their original languages. It is made up of students, alumni and academic and administrative staff of the institution. From January 2013 to June 2015, the group has been directed:

• by Aurelio Tello, from its foundation, at the end of 2010, to 2013;
• by Zaeth Ritter Arenas (for two years and up to one month before his premature death: 2013-2015);
• occasionally and in special events, by Raúl Zambrano, who presented himself at the anniversary concert of La Casa de España;
• by Eduardo Díaz Cerón, his head of director since October 2015 (he led, on October 8, 2015, the participation of the group in the event of the 75th anniversary of the institution, in the first days of the presidential period of Silvia Giorguli Saucedo).

The Colmex Choir interrupted its activities at the beginning of 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic emerged.^{[citation required]}

Protocol against sexual harassment and sexual harassment

As of 2019, the institution began a protocol to address and prevent cases of harassment, sexual abuse and sexual violence that occurred within the institution.

Outstanding students and teachers

Emeritus professors

The professors and researchers who have been named emeritus professors since 1981 are the following:

Outstanding graduates

In politics, diplomacy and public management

Among the notable graduates are eight secretaries of State, five governors and two heads of an autonomous constitutional body:

• 

  Enrique Alfaro Ramírez, governor of Jalisco (since 2018)

• 

  Marcelo EbrardSecretary for Foreign Affairs (2018-2023) and Head of Government of the Federal District (2006-2012)

• 

  Gerardo Esquivelsub-governor of the Bank of Mexico (2019-2022)

• 

  Otto Granados Roldán, Secretary of Public Education (2017-2018) and Governor of Aguascalientes (1992-1998)

• 

  Arturo Herrera Gutiérrez, Secretary of Finance and Public Credit (2019-2021)

• 

  Rosario GreenSecretary for Foreign Affairs (1998-2000)

• 

  Socrates Rizzo GarcíaGovernor of Nuevo León (1991-1996)

• 

  Graciela Marquez Colín, secretary of economics (2018-2020) and president of the INEGI (since 2022)

• 

  Marco Antonio Mena Rodríguez, governor of Tlaxcala (2016-2021)

• 

  Juan Francisco Molinar HorcasitasSecretary of Communications and Transport (2009-2011)

• 

  Jaime Serra PucheSecretary of Economics (1988-1994)

• 

  Leonardo Valdés ZuritaPresident of IFE (2008-2013)

Below is a list of other notable graduates who have served as ambassadors, politicians or officials:

• Adolfo Aguilar Zínser: representative of Mexico to the UN and President of the United Nations Security Council.
• Alfredo Baranda García: politician and diplomat, deputy governor of the State of Mexico (1986-1987) and Mexican ambassador to Spain (1987-1989).
• Enrique Berruga Filloy: former representative of Mexico to the United Nations.
• Teresa Bracho González: sociologist, civil and academic, member of the National Institute for the Evaluation of Education (2013-2019).
• Carlos Javier Echarri Cánovas: official, demographer and academic, secretary general of the National Population Council (2018-2019).
• Ana Luisa Fajer Flores: Ambassador of Mexico to South Africa.
• Bruno Figueroa Fischer: Ambassador of Mexico to the Republic of Korea.
• Claudia Franco Hijuelos: career ambassador, Consul General of Mexico in Phoenix.
• Claude Heller: representative of Mexico to the United Nations.
• Roberta Lajous: representative of Mexico to the UN and Ambassador of Mexico to Spain.
• Rosario A. Molinero: Ambassador of Mexico to Trinidad and Tobago.
• Luz María de la Mora: Undersecretary of Foreign Trade of the Ministry of Economy.
• Carmen Moreno Toscano: Ambassador Emeritus, former Undersecretary for multilateral and current Undersecretary for Foreign Affairs.
• Jorge Nieto Montesinos: politician, einistro de Cultura y Ministro de Defensa del Perú.
• Fernando Pérez Memén: Ambassador of the Dominican Republic to Mexico.
• Arturo Sarukhán: former Mexican ambassador to the United States.
• Jesus Seade: representative of Mexico in the renegotiation of NAFTA in 2018.
• Mony de Swaan Addati: internationalist, official and academic, head of the Federal Telecommunications Commission (2010-2013).
• Mauricio Tabe Echartea: politician, deputy of Mexico City and mayor of Miguel Hidalgo (since 2021).
• Javier Treviño Cantú: politician, federal deputy and undersecretary of Basic Education of the SEP.
• Rodolfo Tuirán Gutiérrez: Secretary General of the National Population Council and Undersecretary of Higher Secondary Education of the SEP.
• Ricardo Valero Recio Becerra: Mexican ambassador to Argentina.

In academia and the private sector

Among the outstanding graduates are members of El Colegio Nacional, the Mexican Academy of Sciences, the Mexican Academy of Language or the Mexican Academy of History (excluding students from El Colegio de México who, in turn, have subsequently served as professors there):

• 

  Margit Frenk (fillogue): member of the Mexican Academy of Language

• 

  Pablo González Casanova (histor): rector of UNAM, director of the UNAM Institute of Social Studies and member of the Mexican Academy of Language

• 

  Alejandro Higashi (filologist): member of the Mexican Academy of Language

• 

  Enrique Krauze (histor): member of El Colegio Nacional and the Mexican Academy of History

• 

  Luis Fernando Lara (linguist): member of the National College

• 

  José María Muriá (histor): member of the Mexican Academy of History

• 

  Aurelio de los Reyes (histor): member of the Mexican Academy of History

• 

  Rafael Rojas Gutiérrez (histor): member of the Mexican Academy of History

• Ignacio Almada Bay, research professor at El Colegio de México and member of the Mexican Academy of History.
• Manuel Ceballos Ramírez, member of the Mexican Academy of History.
• José Antonio Crespo, research professor at CIDE.
• Fernando Escalante Gonzalbo, sociologist and political scientist, research professor at the Center for International Studies of El Colegio de México.
• Carlos Elizondo Mayer-Serra, Director General of CIDE from 1995 to 2004.
• Bernardo García Martínez, research professor at El Colegio de México, member of the Mexican Academy of History in the 19th century from 1999 to 2017.
• Enrique de la Garza Toledo, distinguished professor of the Metropolitan Autonomous University. National Prize for Economics in 1982, National Prize for Science and Arts in 2009 (History, Social Sciences and Philosophy). Member of the Mexican Academy of Sciences.
• Matilde González-Izás, sociologist and researcher at FLACSO-Guatemala.
• Alejandro Higashi, research professor at the Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana, member of the Mexican Academy of Language.
• Luis Fernando Lara, a research professor at the Center for Literary and Linguistic Studies at El Colegio de México and a member of El Colegio Nacional.
• Andrés Lira, professor emeritus and former president of El Colegio de México. Member, since 1988, and president of the Mexican Academy of History between 2011 and 2018.
• Lorenzo Meyer, Professor Emeritus of El Colegio de México.
• Isidro Morales Moreno, is Director of the Public Administration and Government Area (EGAP) at the Tec de Monterrey. He has served as Dean of the School of Social Sciences of the University of the Americas Puebla.
• Elías Pino Iturrieta, Venezuelan historian.
• Gabriela Pérez Yarahuán, Regional Director of CLEAR LAC and Associate Research Professor at the Center for Economic Research and Teaching (CIDE).
• Aurelio de los Reyes, Researcher at the Instituto de Investigaciones Estéticas (Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México) and member of the Mexican Academy of History.
• Rafael Rojas Gutiérrez, research professor at the Center for Historical Studies of El Colegio de México. Member of the Mexican Academy of History.
• Rafael Sagredo Baeza, researcher at the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile.
• Carlos Sirvent Gutiérrez, Director of the Faculty of Political and Social Sciences of UNAM, 1984-1988.
• Elías Trabulse, a specialist in science and technology history.
• Liliana Weinberg Marchevsky, researcher at the Faculty of Philosophy and Letters of UNAM.

• Héctor Aguilar Camín, historian and writer.
• Carlos Blanco Aguinaga, writer and literary.
• Denise Dresser, political analyst and journalist.
• Enrique Krauze Kleinbort, historian, member of the Mexican Academy of History.
• Pablo Soler Frost, writer, translator and essayist.
• Lauro Zavala, literate.
• Leo Zuckermann, political analyst, academic and journalist.