History teaching in textbooks, cycle 2023-2024 overestimation of pre-Hispanic Mexico, absence of the viceregal period

Abstract

The review of free textbooks for the 2023-2024 school cycle revealed a strong emphasis on ancient Mexico in the historical narrative and imagery used, alongside a notable absence of the colonial period. Within the framework of the New Mexican School, subjects were grouped into four formative areas, leading to the elimination or dilution of some traditional subjects into what are now known as “Projects”. Among these subjects are the history of Mexico and mathematics. In this article, through a historiographical analysis, the reasons behind the prevalence of ancient Mexico are explored, considering the limited attention given to other stages of Mexican history, and even less to the colonial period, which is scarcely addressed. The results suggest a nationalist inclination on the part of the Mexican government, seeking to exalt the pre-Hispanic roots of the country while downplaying the impact of the Spanish colonial period by associating it with a history of repression, genocide, invasion, and plunder. It is argued that, in addition to the new focus on decolonial and intercultural didactics, the teaching of history in Mexico continues to highlight a past that promotes national cohesion, through the selection of specific contents, such as the exaltation of pre-Hispanic Mexico.