The rural normal in Mexico

National
The rural normal originate of the project “cardenista”
The rural normal in Mexico
By: Carlos Damián August 22, 2010
In the centennial of the Revolution the rural normal as a rule they have reduced
México.- At the beginning of the years 60’s of the past century, from the official circles, the teacher’s training rural college -rural normal- they have been qualified an and again as radical centers. “Communist nests", " Bolshevik kindergarten “,” guerrilla seedbeds", they are some of the epithets with those which have been wrought the black legend in connection with these institutions. As of this characterization have been justified continuous assaults on schools that in their beginnings were the central shafts of the revolutionary educational policy.

In this year, that with so much fervor is intended to celebrate the centennial of the Revolution, would make well to recall some of their principles. The rural normal originates of the project “cardenista”, which in their bosom was containing important social reforms. For the field, the principal was the agrarian allotment, but very linked to her was the access to the education. The school was positioned as a right to the real education, something which represented a labeled contrast with the ancient regime “porfirista” –Porfirio Díaz times-. The ideologists of the rural education were emphasizing the duty that had the rural teachers of be leaders in the communities.

From there they had to promote civic values and to combat the power of the landowner and of the clergy. The official educational policy was proposing an analysis of class to understand the inequality. From this context, the injustice was not a natural state, neither the will of God, but result of the appropriation by a few than what the property is of all the people. It is not surprising that the landowners as well as the Church may have been opposed to the revolutionary education. From this product logic of the ideals of the Mexican revolution, the educational policy they gave to the teachers and tool pupils to be opposed to the injustice.

In this continuity, the children of the peasants upon entering these schools were feeling in own meat the same needs to deal surrounded of companions of the same social class, encouraging a collective process and a will to be opposed to old structures of economic development. Therefore were acquiring a special sensibility to the injustices the rural teachers. With this sensibility acquired the teachers and students carried them to participate in all type of struggle of social classes in Mexico. In this context the rural schools were constituted in indispensable centers to defend the revolutionary patrimony.

With this experience acquired we can see in union and social struggles of all type, and mobilizations in against of the constant dismantlement of the social conquests formed in the constitution of 1857 and 1917. In this aggressions sense suffered by the normal schools, there is a testimony in 1966 of a proclamation of the Federation of Socialistic Peasant Students of Mexico: "Always we hear them - to governing - speaking in defense of the "regime to right", of the legality of the procedures, and always condemn to those which claim and exercise a right". (AGN-DFS 100-5-1-166, L17 H290-291).

In 1969, a letter was protesting by the close of 15 of 29 rural normal school existing then, was declaring before the Public Education Secretariat (SEP), "if you same are always because there are not illiterate, that there is education in Mexico, what is form?! If now they want that it disappear the only one hope from the peasant that they are the normal rural" (SEP - File, C-101; E-1341). The origins of the normal rural, their internal dynamics, the links that were created with the agrarian communities, and above all, the opportunities that give to youths of the field, constitute a group of the most elemental values than intended to give form to the Revolutionary State. Finally it does not let of be ironical that in the centennial of the Revolution those ideals do not may have echo in the political official. And on the contrary it is them derided from the large official levels of the official teachers union (SNTE).

Deplore the peasants that a century after, the principles of the Revolution continue without be fulfilled
The field is marginalized and lost as makes 100 years, and is required an emerging plan that return it national priority, since of being thus the nation will be in risk and will be broken the social order, warned peasant in Anenecuilco, Morelos State. During the commemoration of the 131 anniversary of the natal of the hero of the Mexican Revolution, Emiliano Zapata, and gathered in their natal people of the Ayala City. The agrarian leaders threatened to remedy to the principal authorities of the country and of the being the agrarian crisis of the country or to resign.

Florencio Ixpango Merino, of the Unit of the Indigenous Force Peasant (FIC), he assured that the economic policy already caused 25 stagnation years and the regime is unable to generating necessary employment, by something which thousands of Mexicans abandon their families and towns to seek the sustenance abroad. He condemned the neoliberal model that incentivizes the capitalistic voracity and excludes to most of the Mexicans of the distribution of the wealth, but them inherited the loss of the food sovereignty, with political that already destined almost 60 billion of dollars for the foods import and generated a dependency superior to 50 percent of the national production. "Zapata yet lives". (La Jornada, política, p.p. 10-17, August 9, 2010).