Normalistas-Teachers and Coloniality of Power in Mexico

Abstract

This paper examines how the work of normalista-teachers in Mexico illuminates what Lucio Cabañas Barrientos termed the ‘new colonial system’ in 1972. There exists an ideological hegemony which asserts that colonialism ended in most Latin American nations, including Mexico, by the first decade of the nineteenth century. However, as this paper argues, the experiences of normalista-teachers demonstrate that colonialism is far from a relic of the past. Drawing upon the concepts of hegemony and coloniality of power, this study explores how normalista-teachers challenge the notion of ‘modernity’ and the myth of a bygone colonial era. It focuses primarily on the specific cases of teachers Margarita Chávez, Salvador Hernández, Antonio Gaytán, María Mendoza, José Lundez Martínez, Hernández, Ibarra, Elena Torres, Del Palacio, and Montiel. Additionally, it examines the social movements and guerrilla groups led by Genaro Vásquez Rojas and Lucio Cabañas Barrientos. This holds significant weight for critical pedagogy. If, through their lives and work, normalista-teachers are able to reveal how material and symbolic inequalities rooted in colonialism continue to shape Mexico, then this suggests they are not merely educators, but rather epistemic providers of critical pedagogy from a Latin American perspective.