CMAS event examined ‘hidden paradox of education and democracy’
The former minister of public education in Mexico told a University of Texas at Arlington audience that a “hidden paradox of education and democracy” is harmful to classroom instruction in both the U.S. and Mexico.
Former Mexico Secretary of Education Aurelio Nuño, now a visiting scholar at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, was a guest speaker Feb. 9 at The University of Texas at Arlington’s Center for Mexican American Studies’ (CMAS) Speakers Series. His lecture, which focused on how political power and mobilization affect the quality of education, examined the power of teacher unions in Mexico and, in his view, the challenges they presented in enacting meaningful educational reform.
“Mexico has undergone a huge transformation,” Nuño said. “We had many reforms: energy, taxes, economic competition—but the most important was education.”
He said the largest hurdles faced by former Mexico President Enrique Peña Nieto in enacting significant educational reforms were finding quality teachers for the classrooms and the opposition of Mexico’s powerful teachers’ unions.
“If Mexico is to provide autonomous life for its citizens, we have to improve education,” Nuño said. “Education is paramount to choose the kind of life you want to have.”
Internal polling indicated that 70% of the Mexican population supported the education reforms, along with 60% of the nation’s teachers, Nuño said. Many of the reforms were enacted, but subsequently reversed when Peña Nieto lost the 2018 election.“It was very sad for Mexico and very sad for me,” Nuño said. “But that is politics.”
Now Nuño is writing a book on the comparative politics of education. He also co-founded an ed-tech startup focused on closing digital skill gaps in Latin America.
Xavier Medina Vidal, CMAS director and an associate professor of political science, said it’s important to bring speakers to UTA like Nuño because these issues are important to students, faculty and staff.
“I think students connect to these issues,” Vidal said.
Nuño responded to a student’s question about Mexican culture by saying the nation is a blend of modern Mexico and older influences from Spain, as well as the Indigenous Aztecs and Mayans.“It’s a strong variety of cultures in Mexico,” Nuño said. “Now, Mexico is a huge modern country, a democracy, a country that believes in freedom, a society of free and equal citizens.
“Even if you have no ancestors of Mexican descent, we are neighbors,” he said. “The opportunities of North America are huge. In many aspects, they are greater than anywhere in the world. We share many values. Here at UTA, you do, too.”