The Autonomous University of the State of Mexico (UAEM) is determined to continue opening academic spaces in the outmost regions of the state, said the university’s rector Alfredo Barrera Baca in a statement during a ceremony commemorating the 145th anniversary of Benito Juárez’s passing.
The ceremony took place at the Lic. Adolfo López Mateos Hall, in UAEM’s Rectory Building. In it, Barrera Baca declared that “we can and should undertake a permanent combat against social exclusion, racism and other forms of discrimination that undermine the dignity of men and women.”
Highlighting the influence of Juárez’s legacy after the Liberal Reform, Barrera Baca added that now women have a place as students, teachers, researchers and executives in academic institutions.
State of Mexico’s Secretary of Education Elizabeth Vilchis Pérez, also present at the ceremony, said that UAEM is at the forefront among public institutions for higher education.
Universities are meant to promote critical thinking and research as fundamental tools for social change and the free dissemination of knowledge, she emphasized in her closing statement.