Breathe
By Sonia Serrano Íñiguez
For some, he was the undisputed moral leader of the University of Guadalajara. For others, he was a cacique who took control of the university, controlling the budget and appointments. Raúl Padilla López was undoubtedly a controversial man. This Sunday, April 2, at the age of 68, he was found dead at his home.
Raúl Padilla López was rector of the University of Guadalajara from 1989 until March 1995. His time at the head of the second most important public university in the country was the most important change in this institution: the university network, which consisted mainly of the decentralization of high school and higher education.
This internal reform represented, however much its detractors may scold it, the most serious effort to bring education closer to the majority of the population. However, the number of young people who are still rejected to study for a bachelor's degree has also been credited to their account.
The university network created regional higher education centers that stopped the migration to the Guadalajara Metropolitan Area of thousands of young people who wanted to study a career. In addition, dozens of high schools were created and others were incorporated in almost every municipality in the state.
In addition, together with the state government, during the previous administration of the PRI candidate Jorge Aristóteles Sandoval Díaz, a universal admission scheme for high school applicants was designed, which consisted of the distribution of all young people in two semester calendars and, as a third option, in high schools administered by the state government.
In the Guadalajara Metropolitan Area, thematic university centers were created and, when urban growth was insufficient, the first multi-thematic centers were created, first in Tonalá, then in Tlajomulco de Zúñiga and currently in process in San Pedro Tlaquepaque.
But along with the growth of the university and enrollment, Raul Padilla's power as the internal leader of the UdeG was strengthened. This power, although those who question it claim it was very personal, in practice worked from different spaces. The first circle was formed by his brother, the director of the Juan José Arreola Public Library, Trinidad Padilla López, the Guadalajara councilman Tonatiuh Bravo Padilla, and the current rector of the University Center of Tonalá, José Alfredo Peña Ramos. The former were also general rectors. In addition, following his appointment, the current rector, Ricardo Villanueva Lomelí, also joined the board.
Then came a wider and changing circle, where there were mainly university students dedicated to politics.
In addition, his control over the General University Council, the highest decision-making body of the university, also allowed him to call the shots. For many, the meticulous integration scheme of this body was the basis for the lack of democracy in the university.
This lack of democracy was a questioning that arose especially from Casa Jalisco, with the three former PAN governors, Alberto Cárdenas, Francisco Ramírez Acuña and Emilio González Márquez, and especially with the current governor, Enrique Alfaro Ramírez. Although in none of these cases was it really an attempt at democratization, but rather the ambition of each of them to get their hands on the University of Guadalajara.
Culture
But the world in which Raúl Padilla moved best and in which he had the greatest recognition was in the world of culture. He turned the International Book Fair, of which he was president, into the main Spanish-speaking cultural event in the world. The most important writers in all languages have passed through the fair, as well as the discussion tables on cultural, social, economic and political issues, and the cultural life of all the participating countries.
He also promoted the Guadalajara Film Festival, the second most important in the country and one of the most important in Latin America, and the Papirolas Children's Festival, one of the most important efforts to introduce children to culture.
At the same time, he promoted the creation of the most important infrastructure in Jalisco, with the University Cultural Center, which currently has an auditorium, a set of movie theaters and concert halls, and the highest quality library. In addition, the Museum of Environmental Sciences is under construction.
The politician
It was precisely the budget for the Museum of Environmental Sciences that was the reason for the formalization of a war that Raúl Padilla did not see finished with Governor Enrique Alfaro Ramírez. According to political analysts, the governor did not forgive Padilla for creating his own political party, Hagamos.
So one day, the governor decided to cut 140 million pesos that had already been allocated to the museum, to allocate them to the construction of a hospital. This was followed by other cuts and, above all, by statements that became increasingly heated, in which Enrique Alfaro went so far as to call Raúl Padilla a "rascal".
In response, the university began a series of marches to demand the return of the resources for the museum. Every day, from different schools, they went to Casa Jalisco to bring hundreds of letters demanding the governor to give continuity to the project.
Raúl Padilla and Enrique Alfaro made political alliances on two occasions. The first, when Alfaro won the mayoralty of Tlajomulco de Zúñiga, in 2009, and the second when he won the governorship, in 2018. In both, they had strong differences and distanced themselves.
Padilla López also became a target of President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, who never forgave him for supporting PAN candidate Ricardo Anaya in the 2018 elections.
The opinions expressed are the responsibility of the authors and are absolutely independent of the position and editorial line of Opinion 51.
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