Between icons and responsibilities. Even when?

“Philosophy should be a kind of eyes of society”,
Leopoldo Zea Aguilar, Mexican philosopher.

In the narrative of nations there are icons, in many cases political manifestos, laws or constructions of stone and meaning, which help us understand the formation of identity. As if it were a second skin that unites the community, identity is built on a base of common beliefs that are reinforced in pacts and rituals, but also in disagreements that foster debate and controversy.

If today we had the opportunity to choose the most significant symbol in our country, many would opt for the Virgin of Guadalupe, others for the eagle devouring a snake, Independence or the Reform. Perhaps a small group would decide for the revolutionary struggle and another more nurtured for the national regeneration movement.

Without hesitation, I would vote for the National Autonomous University of Mexico and I would do so because I firmly believe that knowledge determines the destiny of countries and that our university will continue to guide us as long as Mexicans continue to be who we are.

Heir to the Royal and Pontifical University of Mexico founded in 1551 -which distinguished New Spain as the place of greatest knowledge in the American continent-, the National University was founded shortly before the resignation of Porfirio Díaz and acquired autonomy in 1929, congregating the schools of Medicine, Mining, Jurisprudence, the National Preparatory School and the Higher Studies School.

These schools, which later became the faculties of the plastic integration project in which Mario Pani, Enrique del Moral, the young Ramírez Vázquez, Siqueiros, O’Gorman and Rivera participated, were enriched by the preparation that came from the Spanish exile until they became angular points for the development of science and culture.
One of the most famous is the Faculty of Philosophy and Letters. I don’t know if this is due to the degree of knowledge that is handled in it or to the forced questioning that the formation of the philosopher implies, the truth is that his corridors are natural spaces for denunciation and ideas.

In that logic I can only ask: What has happened to us? How do the UNAM and the enlightened Faculty of Philosophy and Letters of José Gaos, Juan Antonio Ortega y Medina, Ramón Xirau and their contributions on Bergson and Adolfo Sánchez Vázquez and their Marxist studies change the violent threats that have been demanding freedom for a few days? Jorge Emilio Esquivel Muñoz alias “el Yorch”?

Although the takeover of the Justo Sierra Auditorium -Che Guevara-, responded to the disagreements that followed the strike of the year 2000, the violence that has been experienced for several years in the parking lots that surround this faculty and others, cannot be justified as rebellion student, since they have nothing to do with the search of the National Strike Council and its demands for the freedom of political prisoners and the repeal of the crime of social dissolution.

It is sad to say, but today’s groups are very far from those that commemorated the anniversary of the Cuban Revolution and joined the interests of student movements around the world. The young people of the sixties condemned all forms of repression and the government’s attempts to violate university autonomy and influence the presidential succession. This explains why the Rector Barros Sierra himself placed the university flag at half mast as a sign of protest and adhered to the feelings of the dissatisfied, leading the march of silence.

What is happening today is not the sole responsibility of the groups that occupy the auditorium and who have been blamed for intimidation and drug dealing. The neglect of the UNAM is a reflection of the extreme violence that the country is experiencing and hurts us with events as painful as the feminicide of Lesvy Berlin Osorio and so many manifestations of gender violence.

It would be very useful if, before minimizing what happens at the university, our leaders remember its history and its place in our nation, the university goya and that since 2017 UNESCO included it in the list of cultural heritage of humanity.

It is time for the authorities to ensure their integrity and the safety of their students and visitors.

We deserve to walk freely and enjoy the wonders it offers. In the end, UNAM belongs to everyone.