The dismissal of Marx Arriaga from the Educational Materials department attracted the attention of the international press, as shown in a news article published by the Financial Times. The british media publish a text with the title: “Mexico’s school textbook author refuses to leave desk 4 days after sacking.”
The article signed by Ciara Nugent recounts what has happened since the departure of the former official, who has already been replaced by the indigenous poet and teacher Nadia López García. The publication argues that this movement revived the debate surrounding the free textbooks launched in 2023, which were a cornerstone of the “Fourth Transformation” promoted by former President Andrés Manuel López Obrador.
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The dismissal of Marx Arriaga shows to the world the educational crisis in Mexico
Nugent recalled that the books were promoted as a way to end the “neoliberal” education policies of the PRI and PAN governments that preceded him. However, they were not without controversy, as they addressed topics such as gender roles in basic education, contained inaccurate information about national history, and even made mistakes regarding the position of the planets, such as stating that Mars was closer to the Sun than Earth.
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Added to this is the imposition of the current administration’s own political agenda. And although the government maintains that Marx Arriaga refused to make changes to the free textbooks, his dismissal, according to members of the opposition and political analysts, also reflects an interest in making changes within the government and distancing itself from the administrations of Andrés Manuel López Obrador and Claudia Sheinbaum.
The Financial Times highlighted the importance of textbooks in Mexico, given that the country ranks among the worst in the OECD for educational outcomes. Furthermore, schools in various states suffer from problems such as electricity and water supply issues.
The official has been holed up in his old office for four days, without changing his clothes. He says the reason is that he has not received any official notification of his dismissal.
