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The Revolution in Intellectual LifeBy P E D R O H E N R I Q U E Z U R E N A

one denies t he r evolu t ion 's i nf luence , butv e r y f e w h a v e a t t e m p t e d t o d e t e r m i n e t h em a n i f o l d w a y s i n w h i c h t h e i n t e l l e c t u a l l i f eof M ex ico has been af f ec t ed by i t . T h e out -s t a nd ing t r a i t: o f t he new s i t ua t ion i s , how-ever , ev i den t . T h e be li e f i s no w genera l

w h o l e p o p u l a t i o n o f t h e c o u n t r y must go to school ,i n a g e n e r a t i o n .

W h e n I s ay t h a t th i s belief impl i es a new a t t i t ud e , I dotheory o f p o p u l a r e d u c a t i o n w a s u n k n o w n

F a r f r o m i t : a s s o o n a s M e x i c o b e g a n t o e m e rg e ,c e n t u r y a g o , f r o m t h e m e d i e v a l a t m o s p h e r e of t h e

o n i a l r e g i m e , t h e t h e o r y of p o p u l a r e d u c a t i o nf u n d a m e n t a l t o a d e m o c r a c y b e g a n t o a p p e a r in p r i n t .

Pensador Mexicano, w h o

p h l e t s , - m a g a z i n e s a n d c a l e n d a r s , t o s t i m u l a t e in t h et h e d e s i re to r e a d . A f t e r t h e s t r u g g l e f o r i n d e p e n d -; e v e r y m a n w h o c o u l d a f f o r d i t a t t e n d e d s c h o ol ,

r i n g t h e c o l o n i a l p e r i o d , u p t o t h e e n d o f t h e - e i g h t e e n t hw e r e m e n w h o t h o u g h t it d a n g e r o u s f o r

e n t o r e a d a n d w r i t e ) . B u t f o r a h u n d r e d y e a r s p o p u l a rca t ion ex i s t ed ma in ly as a t heo ry . I n pr ac t i ce , school

poor , f e w crossed the bar r i e r of i l l i t e r acy . T heSecretario de Instruction Publico

ard s t he end of t he Dia z r eg im e) never succeeded int o t h e g o v e r n m e n t .

T should be bo rne in min d th a t , i n sp i t e of i t s pr in t ings h o p s , L a t i n A m e r i c a , u p t o 1 8 0 0 , l i v e d u n d e r a m e d i e v a lani z a t io n of soc i e ty and a med ieval concept of cu l tur e .t h i n g c o u l d b e m o r e m e d i e v a l t h a n i ts g r e a t u n i v e rs i t ie s ,

g h t f r o m - t h e t e x t of t h e A r a b m a s t e r s , H i p p o c r a t e sb r o u g h t b a c k a t t i m e s as a g r e a t im p r o v e m e n t . A sr l e s P e g u y r e m a r k s , t h e p r o t e s t a n t p e o p le s b e g a n t o r ea do l u t i o n . T h u s o n e m a y u n d e r s t a n d w h y i t c o u l d ta k e

not a Utopian dr ea m b ut an a c tua l and p ress ing need .i s i s w h a t M e x i c o n o w f u l l y r e a l iz e s , a s a re s u l t o f t h e

e n t d e m a n d s of t h e r e v o l u t i o n . T h e p r o g r a m of w o r ke r t a k e n b y J o s e V a s c o n c e l o s a s s e c r e t a r y of p u b l i c e d u -

an express ion of t hese dem and s .

AN O T H E R a s p ec t o f t h e i n t e ll e c t u a l a w a k e n i n g is t h a t

M e x i c o , l ik e L a t i n A m e r i c a , i s a c q u i r i n g s e l f - r e l i a n c ein t he af f a i r s of t he min d. She has dec ided to t ake for e ignin t e l l ec tua l and ar t i s t i c achi evement s c r i t i ca l l y , and to expectin t he na t ive cr ea t ions t he d i s t i nc t ive qual i t i es which shouldbe the bas is of an or ig ina l cu l tur e .

A p r e l u d e t o t h i s li b e r a t i o n f r o m t h e f o r e i g n i n t e l l e c t u a ld o m i n a n c e is t h e p e r i o d b e t w e e n 1 9 0 6 a n d 1 9 1 1 . A t t h a tt i m e M e x i c a n i n t e l l e c t u a l l i f e h a d a d v a n c e d s o m e w h a t f r o mi ts f o r m e r m e d i e v a l c h a r a c t e r , O u r Weltansclmuung w a sp r e d e t e r m i n e d , n o l o n g e r b y th e t h e o l o g y of A q u i n a s o rScotus , bu t by the sys t em of t he modern sc i ences as i n t er -p r e t e d b y C o m t e , M i l l a n d S p e n c e r ; p o s it i vi s m h a d r e p l a c e dscholas t i c i sm in t he of f ic i a l school s , and t ru th d id no t e x i s tout s ide of i t . Fo r pol i t i ca l t heo ry and economics , e ig ht e enthcen tury li ber a l i sm wa s accepted as f ina l. I n l i t e r a tu r e , t hetyr anny of t he c l ass i cs had been r ep l aced by the dominat iono f m o d e r n F r a n c e . I n p a i n t i n g , i n s c u l p t u r e , i n a r c h i t e c t u r e ,

" t h e a d m i r a b l e M e x i c a n t r a d i t i o n s ~ h a d ~ ~ b e e n ~ f o r g o t t e n ~ a n d ~t h e r ig h t t h i n g w a s t o p l a y t h e s e d u l o u s a p e t o E u r o p e . I nmusic , where t her e was no na t ional t r ad i t i on except i n fo lksong, sa lva t ion w as tho ug ht t o l i e t he way of Le ipz ig .

Bu t i n t he gro up w i th w hich I a f f i l ia t ed mysel f soon af t e rI c a m e f r o m m y n a t i v e S a n t o D o m i n g o w e w e r e v e r y y o u n g ,some of us not out of our ' t eens , when the need of changeb e g a n t o b e f e l t . A m o n g o t h e r s l es s w e l l k n o w n , o u r g r o u pi n c l u d e d A n t o n i o C a s o , J o s e V a s c o n c e l o s , A l f o n s o R e y e s ,A c e v e d o , t h e a r c h i t e c t , a n d R i v e r a , t h e p a i n t e r . T h e r e w a sin us a f ee ling , of i n t e l l ec tu a l oppress ion , added to t he senseof pol i t i ca l and econom ic r es t r i c t i on which w e share d wi thmu ch l a rge r grou ps . W e f e l t t ha t t he of f ic i a l ph i loso phywa s too sys t em at i c , t oo f ina l, no t t o be wr on g. W e r eadthe ear l i e r t h inker s , wh ose wor k the pos i ti v i s t s ha d con-d e m n e d a s u s e le s s , f r o m P l a t o t o K a n t a n d S c h o p e n h a u e r .W e to o k N i e t / s c h e s e r i o u s l y u t t e r b l a s p h e m y ! W e d i s-c o v e r e d B e r g s o n , B o u t r o u x , J a m e s , C r o c e . A n d i n l i t e r a t u r ew e d i d n o t c o n f i n e o u r s e l v e s w i t h i n m o d e r n P a r i s . W e r e a dthe ( J r eeks . \V e we nt back , in our own way , t o S pani shl i t e r a t u r e , w h i c h h a d b e e n l e f t t o p r o v i n c i a l a c a d e m i c g e n t l e -m e n . W e t r i e d E n g l i s h l i t e r a t u r e . W e a t t a c k e d a n d d is -c r e d i t e d t h e pompier t e n d e n c i e s i n a r t . A n d n o t h i n g m o r ena tur a l f o r us t han to l ook for new l ight s i n pol i t i ca l ande c o n o m i c d o c t r i n c .

W e soon appeal ed to t he publ i c in l ec tur es , a r t i c l es , boo ksa n d a r t e x h i b i t io n s . O u r y o u t h f u l r e v o l t s u c c e e d e d f a rb e y o n d o u r e x p e c t a t i o n s . O u r e l d e rs , a f t e r s o m a n y y e a r sof qui e t r u l e , had for go t t en how to f ight. I n 1 909, befo reDi az f e l l , An ton io Cas o wa s ca ll ed to t each in wh at i s nowt h e N a t i o n a l U n i v e r s i t y , a n d , h i s e n t r a n c e m e a n t th e b e g i n -n i n g o f t h e e n d . W h e n M a d e r o c a m e i n t o p o w e r , in 1 9 1 1 ,the l eadin g r epresen ta t i ves of t he o ld of f ic i a l t ho ug ht r e t i r e df r o m t h e U n i v e r s i t y , a n d t h e i r i n f l u e n c e v a n i s h e d . . . . T h i sdoes not mean tha t t he school wo r ld , an d the i n t e l l ec tu a ll i f e o f M e x i c o i n g e n e r a l , b e c a m e e n t i re l y m o d e r n . W e h a d

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1 6 6 T H E R E V O L U T I O N I N I N T E L L E C T U A L L I F Efbroke n a l ong oppress ion , bu t we were f ew and could no tr ep l ace t he o ld mas t er s in a l l t he i r f ie lds . T h e r esu l t was

;;a very imper f ec t ad ju s tm en t , i n which no th in g seemed to*^ .predominate except t he s t imu lus g iven by Caso to ph i l -osophica l f r eedom.

TH E n ext t en year s we re a t ime of pol i t i ca l t u rmoi lwhich might have put an end to i n t e l l ec tua l l i f e werei t no t f o r t he per s i s t enc e of love for cu l tu r e i n her ent i n t heL a t i n t r a d i t i o n . W h i l e w a r r a g e d a n d t h e m e m b e r s o f t h e" in t e l l i gen s i a" bec ame so ld i er s , t he e f for t s t ow ard s i n t e l - .

d e c t u a l r e n e w a l , t h o u g h d i s o r g a n i z e d , w e n t o n . O u r g r o u p -h a d g i v e n t o M e x i c o f r e e d o m i n p h i l o s o p h y , l i t e r a t u r e a n dar t . T h e r evolu t ion impl i ed a r ene wa l in pol i t i ca l and eco-

snomic doct r ine , and f ina l ly , abou t 192 0, t he change of d i r ec-: t i on in t he t eaching of soc io logy, economics and l aw became^ e v id e n t i n t h e N a t i o n a l U n i v e r s i t y . T h i s w a s m a i n l y d u eto men s t i l l younger t han our se lves , such men as Danie l

" Q u i r o s , G o m e z M o r i n , L o m b a r d o T o l e d a n o , A l f o n s o C a s o( a b r o t h e r of A n t o n i o ) , C o s i o V i l l e g a s . . O n e g r e a t t h i n g

s is y e t la c k i n g t o m a k e t h e s e a c h i e v e m e n t s p e r m a n e n t abet t e r organiza t ion of t he univer s i t i es , now a t t he mercy of

, pol i t i ca l changes or whims of t he men in power .T h i s f a r , I h a v e d e v o t e d m o r e a t t e n t i o n t o t h e s t r u g g l e

t o w a r d s f r e e d o m t h a n to t h e c o n s t r u c t i v e e f f o r t . F o r ar a ther l ong per iod , Mexico s tood a lone , be ing l e f t t o her

.own devices, f irst by such d el ib era te pol icies as "w at ch fu l'w a i t i n g " a n d n o n - r e c o g n i t i o n o f g o v e r n m e n t s , t h e n b y t h eE u r o p e a n w a r ; h e r o n l y f r i e n d s h a v e b ee n th e L a t i n A m e r -

i can na t ions , p l a tonic f r i ends so f ar , s i nce t hey ar e e i t hertoo d i s t an t or t oo poor t o g ive any prac t i ca l ass i s t ance . T h e

ef fec t of t h i s i so l a ti on ha s been to prov e th a t sp i r i t ua l lyMexico i s ab l e t o suppor t i t se l f a lone wi th such cur ious ,r esu l t s as t he opera seasons of 19 15 and 1916, wh en theM e x i c a n s , w h o a r e v e r y f o n d o f o p e r a , b u t w e r e u n a b l e t o

i nduce any group of for e ign s inger s t o come, organized nat ional companies , and a t t imes two of t hem sang s imul -t a n e o u s l y i n t h e c a p i t a l . T h e y e a r s f r o m 1 9 1 3 t o 1 9 2 3 h a v e indeed been such tha t t hey might have t aught se l f - r e l i ancer to a na t ion mu ch we ake r i n fi ber t han Me xico .

WH A T h a s b e e n t h e o u t c o m e ? F i r s t , t h e re a l i z a ti o ntha t t he soc i a l ques t ions of Me xico , her econom ic.and l ega l problems, a r e unique in charac t er and not t o be- so lved by me re imi t a t i on s of t he meth ods of t he U ni t e d

Sta t es , o r t he Rus s i an Sovie t , o r t he Fasc i s t i . Th en , t heCbel ief that the M ex ic an m ind is as crea t ive as any. I t i s d o u b t f u l w h e t h e r , w i t h o u t a c h a n g e o f t h e s p i r i t u a l a t m o s -phere , we should have had s uch or ig ina l books as Reyes ' Elsincida, o r V a s c o n c e l o s ' El monismo estetico, o r C a s o ' s La ex-histencia como economia, como desinteres y como caridad; suchn a t i o n a l i s t ic r e s e a r c h a s M a n u e l G a m i o ' s m o n u m e n t a l w o r k

. o n t h e p o p u l a t i o n o f t h e T e o t i h u a c a n V a l l e y o r A d o l f o B e s tM a u g a r d ' s s t u d y o f t h e l i n e a l e l e m e n t s a n d t h e c a n o n s o fM e x i c a n a n c i e n t a n d p o p u l a r a r t ; s u c h i n t e r p r e t a t i o n s o f t h eMe xic an sp i r i t as t hose d i sc losed in t he f rescoes of D iegoR i v e r a a n d h i s f o l l o w e r s .

There is, f inal ly, the desi re to use nat ive mater ial orna t ive subjec t s i n t he ar t sand l i t e r a tu r e and sc i ence ,t o g e t h e r w i t h t h e d e c i s i o n

t o c r e a t e n e w m e t h o d s i f t h et r a d i t io n a l E u r o p e a n m e t h -

iods prov e insuf f i c i en t f or t h e

nevy prob lem s. T h e Tightness of this decision hasb e e n d e m o n s t r a t e d e s p e c i a l ly i n p a i n t i n g a n d d r a w -i n g . A r c h i t e c t u r e d o e s n o t l a g b e h i n d . J . T . A c e v e d o

. and Fede r i co M ar i s ca l , i n t he i r l ec tur e s of 19x3,s t a r t e d the m ov em ent i n ' f av or of t he s tud y ofM e x i c o ' s c o l o n i a l t r a d i t i o n ; a n d M e x i c o C i t y n o wboast s of scores of ne w b ui ld i ngs of var ious exc el l encein which the o ld ar c hi t e c tu r e i s adap ted to ne w ends .These bui ld ings ar e easy to r ecognize by the use t heymake of two typica l s tones , t he dark r ed tezontle a n dthe br ight gr ay chiluca, as we l l as by the g l azed t i l e orna-m e n t s . T h e y a r e g i v i n g b ac k t o t h e c i t y i ts t r a d i t i o n a lc h a r a c t e r .

I n music , how eve r , very l i t t l e has been achieved . Th ein t er es t i n fo lk sbngs i s now genera l ; every one s ings t hem,jus t as every one de l igh t s i n t he pot t e r y and the c arv ing sand the weaving of t he Indians ; and they ar e sung in of f i c i a lschool s j us t as t he sys t em of dr a wi ng t a ug ht t he r e is basedon the s tudy of Me xic an na t ive ar t . 'But t her e i s no t ye tthe same apt i t ude or d i scr iminat ing t as t e , e i t her of f i c i a l l y orpr iva t e ly , ' f or mu si c t h a t t he r e i s . f or , l e t us say , po t t e ry .Even the essent i a l d i s t i nc t ion be tween the r ea l f o lk song andthe mere ly pop ular t un e ma nu fa c tu red in t he c i t y i s no t ye tc o m m o n l y g r a s p e d . B u t t h r o u g h t h e u s e f u l w o r k o f P o n c e ,a pro l i f i c compos er t ho ug h a t imid p ione er , wh o began tos t u d y t h e f o l k t u n e s o f M e x i c o a b o u t 1 9 1 0 , a n e w u n d e r -s t a n d i n g i s d a w n i n g a n d n e w m e t h s d s o f a p p r o a c h a r e b e i n gt r ie d b y y o u n g e r m e n s u c h a s A n t o n i o G o m e z a n d a a n dC a r l o s C h a v e z R a m i r e z . W e m a y e x p e c t t h a t t h e y w i l lbegin t he s tudy of t he fo lk music f rom the bot tom by de t er -minin g the t ona l sys t em which l i es a t t he bas i s of i t . Th er eare , bes ides , vas t poss ib i l i t i es i n t he Mexican orches t r a , a

. p e c u l ia r n o n - E u r o p e a n a s s e m b l y o f i n s t r u m e n t s o f w i d e l ydi f f er e nt or ig ins , which prod uce d an impress ion of surpr i seand de l ight in Bra z i l and A rg en t in a i n 1922 on i t s f i r s tp r e s e n t a t i o n a b r o a d , a n d w h i c h w o u l d c e r t a i n l y b e a s u r p r i s eand a de l ight t o S t r av insk i or t o Fa l l a .

In l i t e r a tur e , t he changes ar e much l ess s t r i k ing than inar ch i t ec tu r e or pa in t in g . T h i s i s no t because of any de-f ic iency in t he dev elop me nt of new , t endencies , as wi th music ,b u t b e c a u s e l i t e r a t u r e h a d a l r e a d y a c h i e v e d , b e f o r e t h er e v o l u t i o n , a m u c h g r e a t e r o r i g i n a l i t y t h a n i s g e n e r a l lyr e a l i z e d ; f o r , a l t h o u g h L a t i n A m e r i c a n w r i t e r s h a v e a l w a y sbeen nour i shed in t he l i t e r a tur es of Spain and France , imi t a-t i on has p l ayed a l imi t e d ro l e ; a t t imes i t i s t he La t in Am er -i can tha t i nf luences t he Spani sh poet , and not t he cont r ary .F r o m t h e t im e of R u i z d e A l a r c o n , t h e g r e a t s e v e n t e e n t hc e n t u r y d r a m a t i s t , M e x i c a n l i t e r a t u r e h as h a d a d i s ti n c tn o t e o f it s o w n g r a y , m e l a n c h o l y , w i t h t h e n u a n c e s oft w i l i g h t .

F o r " t h e c o m m o n p e o p l e , " t h e r e v o l u t i o n h a s b r o u g h t n o tonly t he i ncr ease of edu cat i ona l f ac i l i t i es ; i t has t aug ht l a rgenumber s t ha t t hey have r i ght s and tha t one of t hem i s t her i g h t t o e d u c a t i o n . T h e i r t r a d i t i o n a l , a g e -o l d s a d n e s s h a sbeen l i gh t ed by hop e . T h e y now play and l augh as t heyn e v e r d i d b e f o r e . T h e y h o l d t h e i r h e a d s h i g h . P e r h a p s t h eb e s t s y m b o l o f t h e n e w M e x i c o i s D i e g o R i v e r a ' s p o w e r f u lf r esco in which , whi l e t he arm ed r e volu t io ni s t on hor seback

s tops t o r es t , t he rur a lschool t eacher i s sur roundedby a f ew chi ldr en an dadul t s , as poo r ly c l ad asher se l f , bu t eager wi th t hehope of new th ings .

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S C H O O L B O Y S F R O M T H E C O L O N T A D E L A B O L S AThe "Commissioner of Agriculture" making a speech before a convention of Mexican agriculturists

Educational AspirationsBy J O S E V A S C O N C E L O S

H E r e v o l u t i o n o f M e x i c o fa l l s i n t o t h re edi s t i n c t phases . T h er e was f i r s t o f a l l t hehope , t he i dea l i sm of t he Madero per iod cen-t er ed about t he conques t of pol i t i ca l f r eedomand soc i a l j us t i c e . Pr e sen t day l eade r s a r ef o n d o f c l a i m i n g t h a t M a d e r o w a s n o t h i n g

a m e r ; i n t r u t h h e w a s f a r s u p e r i o r t o . a n y m a ne v o l u t i o n h a s p r o d u c e d a f t e r h i m . I t is e n o u g h

read the p l an of S t . Lo ui s wh ere M ad er o es t ab l i shedp u r p o s e o f c o n q u e r i n g p o l i t i c a l f r e e d o m , t o g e t h e r w i t h

r t a n t r e f o r m s , t o u n d e r s t a n d t h a t t h e l e a d e r s f r o ms d a y o n h a v e d o n e n o t h i n g m o r e t h a n t r y to c a r r y o u ts i d e a s o r m i s i n t e r p r e t t h e m . A f t e r t h e M a d e r o pe r i od

t o d e s t r o y e v e r y t h i n g b e l o n g i n g t o t h e p a s t . C a r r a n z acrea t ed and ended th e b l ind per iod of t he r evo lu t ion .

i t h j O b r e g o n t h e r e v o l u t i o n a c h i e v e d m a t u r i t y a n d h a s

In t he pr esent per iod of def in i t i on I be l i eve tha t t hec o n c e n t r a t e d u p o n t h r e e m a i n p u r p o s e s : t h e

bre akin g up of l a rge l an d hold in gs , or t he agrar i a n ques t ion ;.t h e o r g a n i z a t i o n o f l a b o r ; a n d t h e e d u c a t i o n o f t h e m a s s e s .W e a r e st i ll l a c k i n g a m a n c a p a b l e o f c o m p r e h e n d i n g a n ds o l v i n g th e a g r a r i a n q u e s t i o n . W e h a v e b ee n t r y i n g t o w o r k i to u t b y p a r t i a l a n d s p o r a d i c m e a n s a n d s o m e h o l d i n g s h a v ebeen g iven to India n tow ns. Bu t as ye t , no one has dare d toi m p o s e a g o o d p r o g r e s s iv e l a n d t a x t h a t w o u l d a u t o m a t i c a l l yf o r c e t h e b r e a k - u p of t h e l a r g e e s t a t e s . O u r l a b o r o r g a n i z a -t i ons ar e be ing cor rupted by pol i t i c i ans , bu t s t i l l t he work-i n g m e n a t l a rg e h a v e m a d e s o m e m a t e r i a l a n d t r e m e n d o u ss p i r i t u a l p r o g r e s s o v e r t h e i r p r e - r e v o l u t i o n a r y s t a t e o tm i n d .

T h o u g h t h e p r a c t i c a l o u t c o m e o f t h e r e v o l u t i o n m a y b es m a l l , t h e M e x i c a n m a s s e s h a v e a w a k e n e d a n d a r e s o m u c hi n e a r n e s t a b o u t t h e i r e c o n o m i c b e t t e r m e n t a n d s p i r i t u a ld e v e l o p m e n t t h a t a s e r i o u s a d v a n c e w i l l h a v e t o c o m e . I nf ac t , r evolu t ionary pr inc ip l es have imposed themselves i nsuch a def in i t e way tha t even the r eac t ionar i es have to puti n t o t h e i r p o l i ti c a l p l a t f o r m r e v o l u t i o n a r y f o r m u l a s , s u c h - a sl a n d d i v i si o n , p o l i t ic a l f r e e d o m , e t c . A n d t h e m a i n d a n g e rof t he pr esent day , i n my opin ion , l i es wi th t he men who ar ea r g u i n g i n f a v o r of m i l i t a r y d i c t a t o r s h i p t o c a r r y o u t t h e s e

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