They recognize González Casanova’s commitment to indigenous peoples

Arturo Cano

Newspaper La Jornada
Tuesday, November 15, 2022, p. 12

As a child he was a bad student. His father sent him to a carpentry shop. His hard work got him back on the books. He learned to box to defend himself against a bully and, thanks to a military uncle, the art of fencing. All these data, perhaps little known, were put on the table in a tribute to Pablo González Casanova, on the occasion of his hundredth birthday.

González Casanova’s longevity has generated a long list of tributes, doctorates honoris causa and, above all, the recognition of peoples with whom he has shown solidarity and of the legions of researchers trained under his guidance.

To celebrate the centenary of the emeritus professor, the National Autonomous University of Mexico has organized, among other events, a cycle of round tables in which different angles of the prolific career of this fundamental author are analyzed.

The fourth table, which was held yesterday and was broadcast over the Internet, was called Pablo González Casanova: from academia to politics, which included the participation of María de Jesús Patricio Martínez, spokesperson for the National Indigenous Congress, Sebastián Rivera Mir, from El Colegio Mexiquense and the journalist Luis Hernández Navarro, moderated by Raúl Romero Gallardo, from UNAM’s Social Research Institute.

Rivera Mir traced a route through the extensive bibliographical work of the former rector of the highest house of studies, highlighting the peculiar Latin American look of González Casanova and his tireless role as promoter of cultural companies throughout the subcontinent.

The researcher also stated that unlike other intellectuals who want to figureGonzález Casanova is present in the struggles that he decides to support, as a support and not as a protagonist.

María de Jesús Patricio stressed the honoree’s commitment to indigenous peoples and said that his work has helped communities understand how global issues affect the local level. It has helped to understand dispossession disguised as development suffered by native peoples.

Hernández Navarro stressed that the social scientist has opened huge windows to look out and understand Latin American society and changes in the worldwho was a disciple of Alfonso Reyes, and a student of Fernand Braudel and George Gurtvitch, began his training studying accounting at a private school, after the tragedy that represented the death of his father, and his first and boring job was as a cashier’s assistant in a bank, where he had to classify papers by their colors.

Hernández Navarro followed the long path of González Casanova: from El Colegio de México to his studies in France, and from there to a tireless work that resulted in 24 books, not counting the 32 in which he participated as coordinator or editor. .

Among the stories that were reviewed by Luis Hernández Navarro are also his role in the founding of the day. In the words of the author of Democracy in Mexico: “I remember in my dreams that night when several friends arrived. More than my memory, I was awakened by his consternation. They had just resigned from a newspaper that was becoming more and more difficult to work for… When they told me about their resignation, I remember that I said to them with a certain irresponsibility: And why don’t we found another? It was one of those outbursts of youth that sometimes have real effects”.