New conferences by UNAM
November 14, 2008 San Miguel de Allende

UNAM Conferences We Were All Insurgents Sat, Nov 15, noon Interpretations of the Mexican Revolution Sat, Nov 15, 1–2:30pm Teatro Santa Ana Reloj 50-A Donation

New conferences have been programmed by UNAM to be offered on November 15. These two conferences are related to the celebrations of the Bicentennial of Mexican Independence and the Centennial of the Mexican Revolution. 

The first conference, “We Were All Insurgents: Actions and Fictions of the Mexican Insurgency, 1809-1816”, will be offered by Antonio Ibarra, general secretary of the Faculty of Economy of UNAM. The conference intends to depict some faces of the popular political dissidence in Bourbon Mexico, especially at the beginning of the insurrection and during it. The objective of the conference is to show the diversity of attitudes to the reception of dissident ideas, as well as the different ways of direct actions. Ibarra has a Ph.D. in history from the Colegio de México. 

The second conference, “Interpretations of the Mexican Revolution,” will be offered by Leonardo Lomelí Villergas, and its main idea is that the Mexican Revolution is still one of the most controversial processes of Mexican history. The objective of this conference is to analyze all that has been written about the Revolution in its different periods, as well as giving an interpretation of the contemporary debates among experts about this important period of Mexican history. Lomelí has degrees in economy and history, as well as a master’s degree in history from UNAM. 

These conferences intend to cause a more documented reflection about the two events which transformed Mexico, the first one into an independent country and the second one into a political and economical modern organization. 

Talk examines Mexican Revolution 

Lecture
“The Mexican Revolution and San Miguel”
Arturo Morales
Tue, Nov 18, 1:30pm
Teatro Santa Ana
Biblioteca Pública
Insurgentes 25
50 pesos

The Mexican Revolution was a major armed struggle that started with an uprising led by Francisco I. Madero against long-time autocrat Porfirio Díaz. The first of the major revolutions of the twentieth century, the Mexican Revolution was characterized by several socialist, liberal, anarchist, populist and agrarianist movements. It progressed into a protracted and multi-sided civil war and ultimately resulted in the Mexican Constitution of 1917. The Revolution is generally considered to have lasted until 1920, although the country continued to have sporadic but comparatively minor outbreaks of rebellion in the twenties, with the major exception of the Cristero War. The Revolution triggered the creation of the National Revolutionary Party in 1929 (renamed the Institutional Revolutionary Party, or PRI, in 1946). Putting forward a variety of leaders, the PRI held power and led the country until the general election of 2000. Arturo Morales talks about the Revolution and its complexity, two days before the 98th anni
versary of the conflict.