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128 6 Rituals of the State MEXICO, 1921–1952  On October 12, 1921, the president of Mexico,Álvaro Obregón, appointed José Vasconcelos minister of the newly created Secretaría de Educación Pública (SEP). As a young, idealistic attorney and writer who belonged to a group of revolutionaries known as the Ateneo de la Juventud (Athenaeum of Youth), Vasconcelos was a natural choice to head the SEP. His radical ideas intimidated the former president Venustiano Carranza, who had forced him into exile in the United States. The day after Carranza’s assassination, however , Vasconcelos returned to Mexico City eager to help his nation. By centralizing the administration of all of Mexico’s schools Vasconcelos was able to radically overhaul the nation’s education system. He not only spearheaded national literacy programs and built campuses in rural villages and urban slums, but also promoted a romanticized memory of Mexico’s past to instill a sense of nationalism and pride in the country’s youth. Although his tenure at the SEP was short, Vasconcelos laid the foundation for an educational system that embraced the memory of the War of North American Intervention as a tool to promote an idealized image of Mexican citizenship.1 Under Porfirio Díaz, memory of the war with the United States served as a means of solidifying his ties with the military. Elaborate ceremonies at Chapultepec Park celebrated the mythic acts of the heroic cadets who died there and reaffirmed the officer corps’ loyalty to the president. During the Mexican Revolution subsequent leaders co-opted these commemorations and likewise used them to enhance their power base. As the bloodshed came to an end in 1920, Mexico faced a shattered economy, struggling democratic institutions, and poor relations with the United States. Confronted with the hard realities of reconstruction, Mexico’s rulers forsook many of the idealistic goals of the Revolution. In lieu of radical reform the government gave the people a new nationalistic identity built upon their indigenous heritage and legacy of military heroism. This new nationalism became a hallmark Rituals of the State 129 of Mexican identity that was embraced by repressive and progressive leaders alike.2 Between 1921 and 1952 Mexican educators, artists, politicians, and military leaders used the memory of the War of North American Intervention to promote patriotism and nationalism. Unlike earlier periods, in this era efforts were aimed mainly at the general population rather than at the nation’s military and civilian elites. As Mexico moved again toward democracy, it was vital for leaders to encourage the loyalty and support of the people. The writers of textbooks evoked the memory of the Boy Heroes to inspire a sense of national pride and obedience in young children. Filmmakers enshrined these ideals in popular culture by producing a feature motion picture graphically illustrating the story of the self-sacrificing cadets. Mexican politicians took the reins of the war’s commemoration at Chapultepec from the military and built additional monuments around the country. In a bid to regain authority over the memory of the conflict, the Military College and the Mexican army began a quest for the lost remains of the Boy Heroes. Ironically, the increased interest in the war occurred while relations with the United States steadily improved. North Americans, looking for allies in the fight against fascism and communism, made conciliatory gestures toward Mexicans to assuage resentments lingering since 1848. This attitude prompted Mexico’s leaders to find ways of celebrating their resistance to the United States without alienating their powerful northern neighbor. Their solution was to focus almost exclusively on the Boy Heroes, nonideological children who might be venerated without offending the United States. The creation of the SEP in 1921 heralded a massive expansion of the postrevolutionary education system in Mexico.The nation’s literacy rates climbed as learned Mexicans answered the call for “cada uno enseña a uno” (each one teach one) and began instructing their fellow citizens how to read. It would take decades for these reforms to touch the far reaches of the republic, yet the SEP brought much-needed progress. Previously, the story of the Boy Heroes had largely served the nation’s elite, but increased literacy during the 1920s spread this important myth throughout the country and provided an example for all young Mexicans to follow. While the United States would always be seen as the aggressor, postrevolutionary textbooks focused on how traitors within Mexico had hastened the nation’s defeat. Like writers in...

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