"The country´s future depends on what a conscious and organized society does, or fail to do". The mexican enigma is an informative analysis of the situation of political, social and economic crisis that Mexico is going through from the review of three key areas: the political elites —mainly figures like Enrique Peña Nieto, whom the author studies in a bibliographical manner as well as reviews his actions since he was governor of Estado de Mexico—; the de facto powers that have been developed in the country and its implications in Mexican political and social credibility; the last axis is organized society, which, from the perception of Aguayo, has always been excluded from Mexican politics. The author also discusses the state of political culture within society and the level of disapproval of this before the present form of the government of Mexico. The author makes a strong documentary research that reaches to an almost didactic text, bringing the reader to a real and well informed approach of what is happening in Mexico. The book, in digital format, allows interaction with documents, videos and photographs that complement the reading, while encouraging political reflection from its readers.

Originating in the popular Sociología en Cuarantena blog, this volume provides a detailed and multifaceted analysis of the social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in Spain. This book originates in the great upheaval caused by the COVID-19 pandemic when the unprecedented announcement of global lockdowns paralysed the world and put social relations on hold. In response, a loose collective of sociologists, historians and philosophers from various Spanish universities began to share their reflections on the pandemic on the Sociología en Cuarantena blog. This book takes some of those thoughts and delves deeper into the recurring themes as they relate to the Spanish experience of the pandemic. The chapters in the first part of the book address the social and political context of the various measures put in place by the government to deal with the health, economic and social effects of the pandemic. Subsequently, several chapters examine how the pandemic led to important reflections on uncertainty and authority in processes of scientific knowledge production. Other chapters analyse the effects of the pandemic on demographics, the organisation of care, the education system, the organisation of work and the recognition of essential workers, immigration policies and the digitalisation of society. Collectively, the contributions call into question the narrative of exceptionalism that views the pandemic as a singular event that is uniquely responsible for the present situation of uncertainty and instability. They also draw attention to the fragility of social prestige and trust in neglected and weakened public institutions, as well as identifying a growing socio-political polarisation that may be highly significant in the future. This collection will appeal to students and researchers with an interest in contemporary Spain and the socio-political effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Este libro centra su enfoque en el periodo de la Independencia, de 1750 a 1840. Esta época, antes, durante y después de la emancipación del reino de la Nueva España de la monarquía española, fue de cambios, innovaciones y conflicto en el ámbito educativo. Una obra más de la serie de antologías que busca ofrecer una muestra reducida pero representativa de los principales trabajos de algunos de los colegas de El Colegio dedicados, preferentemente, a los estudios sobre la Independencia o la Revolución. Los trabajos reimpresos en estas antologías en ocasiones fueron seleccionados por otros especialistas y en otras por ellos mismos. A los setenta años de su fundación El Colegio de México se siente orgulloso de su tradición y renueva su compromiso con el desarrollo de la historiografía mexicana.

This book brings together recent research by a group of specialists in history and sociology to provide a new reading of the late Franco dictatorship, especially in relation to its political culture. The authors focus on the election of local, trade union and national representatives, the work of the first Spanish sociologists, the struggle over administrative reform, the role of the media and the intellectuals, as well as the evolution of the dictatorships political class and its response to the regimes decline. Not only are the politics of the late dictatorship scrutinised, but also the mechanisms that were deployed to control the fast-changing society of the 1960s and 1970s. In examining the late Franco period, the contributors do not believe that it contained the seeds of Spains later democratisation, but maintain that certain sectorial regime initiatives -- electoral and political changes, an evolving discourse and an interest in political processes outside Spain -- made many Spaniards aware of the dictatorships contradictions and limitations, thereby encouraging its subsequent political and social evolution. This transformation is compared with the latter stages of the parallel dictatorship in Portugal. The great majority of Spaniards felt that the embrace of democratic freedoms and integration into the European Community was the only way forward during the Transition. But the shift from dictatorship to democracy from the 1960s onwards in Spain needs to be understood in relation to the multitude of political and social changes that took place -- despite the opposition of Franco and the bunker mentality of the regime. These changes manifested in a complex interaction between internal and external factors, which eventually resulted in the transformation of Spanish society itself.