Ideology, paradigm shift, and the defense of the New Mexican School

Abstract

This article aims to analyze the New Mexican School as an attempt to shift the paradigm of Mexico's educational policy, driven by the "Fourth Transformation," and to examine the contradictions, resistance, and limitations facing its implementation. It argues that, although the New Mexican School is presented as a break from the neoliberal model and the post-revolutionary nationalist legacy, its rollout has been hasty and lacked both pilot testing and sufficient teacher training. Through an examination of curricular documents, specifically A Book Without Recipes for Teachers, as well as critiques from academics and civil society organizations and Marx Arriaga’s call to defend the New Mexican School, the article contends that the project seeks to impose a new form of official knowledge rooted in community and decolonial perspectives. However, it faces structural obstacles stemming from entrenched pedagogical habits and the gap between official rhetoric and actual school practice. The conclusion is that while the New Mexican School will persist as long as Morena holds political power, it will fail to establish cultural hegemony or a genuine paradigm shift, as its ideology and symbols do not succeed in transforming the routines or dominant beliefs within the Mexican education system.