Vargas Llosa and López Obrador a political and intellectual rivalry

The political and literary legacy of the Peruvian Nobel Prize winner and his controversies with the Mexican president.

The legacy of Vargas Llosa and his confrontation with López Obrador

Mario Vargas Llosa, central figure of the Latin American boom and Nobel Prize winner in Literature in 2010, died in Lima at the age of 89. His children confirmed that his death occurred peacefully, surrounded by his family. In addition to his contribution to letters, the author was an open critic of populist ideologies, especially during the government of Andrés Manuel López Obrador in Mexico.

A political stance without concessions

Since the 90s, Vargas Llosa described the Mexican political system as “the perfect dictatorship” due to the dominance of the PRI. In recent years, he supported figures such as Keiko Fujimori, José Antonio Kast and Jair Bolsonaro, positioning himself as a reference for liberal-conservative thought in the region.

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During the 2018 presidential campaign in Mexico, the writer warned about the risks of populism, comparing López Obrador with the Venezuelan model. “I hope he doesn’t win, it would be a setback for the country,” he declared. After Morena’s victory, he reiterated his criticism, ensuring that populism “could ruin Mexico.”

Public responses and tensions

López Obrador dismissed Nobel’s criticism, stating that he “did not know him” and joking about his “intellectual decline.” In 2021, the Mexican president ironically commented on a lecture by the author, calling it “commonplaces.” The tension escalated when Dina Boluarte, president of Peru, decorated Vargas Llosa in 2023, generating new criticism from Mexico.

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INEHRM becomes a research and teaching center

The INEHRM is transformed into a research and teaching center under the new secretariat.

Transformation of the INEHRM

President Claudia Sheinbaum signed the decree that transfers the National Institute of Historical Studies of the Revolutions of Mexico (INEHRM) to the Secretariat of Science, Humanities, Technology and Innovation (SECIHTI). The institute becomes a decentralized public body with an academic focus.

Rosaura Ruiz Gutiérrez, head of SECIHTI, explained that the new scheme will train specialists in history to strengthen national capacities in social sciences and humanities.

Felipe Arturo Ávila Espinosa, director of the INEHRM, explained that the study plans will link historical knowledge with social, economic, political and cultural problems of the country, and will address the needs of the Federal Public Administration.

Hybrid educational offer

The offer will include bachelor’s degrees in History, Social Sciences and Humanities, and Public Administration and Good Government. In postgraduate studies, master’s degrees will be added in Mexican Humanism, Gender and Feminism Studies, and Social Movements and Rescue of Historical Memory. There will also be specialties in Political Communication and History Teaching.

Graduates will cover topics such as agrarianism, health, migration, artificial intelligence, violence and human rights.

Headquarters and call

The new headquarters will be at 80 Guatemala Street, Historic Center of Mexico City. The first admission call will be launched in July, and classes will begin in September.

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Prosecutor’s Office grants protection measures to victim of family violence

The Morelos Prosecutor's Office issued protection measures after a complaint of family violence against the former director of Pemex.

The Morelos Attorney General’s Office activated protection measures in favor of Felicia Jiménez Lavie, who filed a complaint for family violence against her husband, Víctor Rodríguez Padilla, former director of Pemex. This was reported by prosecutor Fernando Blumenkron Escobar.

The measures, the official explained, will be available when the victim requires them. The complaint was filed in Mexico City and the Women’s Secretariat of the Government of Mexico directly follows up on the case.

Investigation in progress

Until now, Jiménez Lavie has not gone to the local Public Ministry to contribute more elements to the investigation folder. This was initiated ex officio last Friday, June 26, after a video was broadcast with images of attacks against the woman.

Blumenkron assured that the portfolio continues its integration. “The proceedings have not stopped and we are going to continue to guarantee justice for the victim,” he said. In addition, he indicated that there is coordination with the Women’s Secretariat and the capital’s Prosecutor’s Office, under the care route for victims of family violence.

Among the actions carried out, the Morelos Prosecutor’s Office seeks to locate the address where the physical assault occurred, to carry out expert reports in accordance with the images of the video broadcast by the victim herself.

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Trump does not extend T-MEC: Mexico faces annual review

US rejects automatic extension of the T-MEC; validity is reduced to 10 years with annual review.

Rejection of automatic extension

The United States decided not to automatically renew the Treaty between Mexico, the United States and Canada (T-MEC) for 16 years. This reduces its validity to a decade with an annual review. The measure generated concern among Mexican legislators.

Ricardo Monreal, coordinator of Morena in San Lázaro, explained that the treaty remains in force for another 10 years, but subject to evaluation each year. He noted that the United States presented 54 observations, including issues such as the vaquita porpoise and piracy. Mexico, for its part, raised 13 points, including clause 232 on tariffs.

“Only it will be reviewed year after year, but the Treaty is not finished, it continues for another 10 years because that is how it was signed six years ago,” declared Monreal.

The legislator warned that Donald Trump has been a constant critic of the USMCA and called for considering the benefits it has brought to the three nations.

Reactions of the opposition

Héctor Saúl Téllez, vice economic coordinator of the PAN, considered that the US position shows a lack of strategic anticipation on the part of the federal government.

“The US decision not to automatically extend the USMCA for 16 years in today’s review is not the end of the treaty, but it does reveal a lack of strategic anticipation by the federal government,” he stated.

Téllez recalled that Article 34.7 of the agreement had been known since 2018. Reaching July 1 without a clean extension represents a risk that, he said, should have been avoided.

The annual review will allow adjustments, but uncertainty about the future of regional trade persists. Mexico and Canada will seek to maintain the stability of the agreement for the next ten years.

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