Cuauhtémoc Cárdenas Solórzano Receives an Honorary Doctorate from the Instituto Politécnico Nacional

• Arturo Reyes Sandoval highlighted that today the IPN embraces one of its own, a bond forged through the founding vision of his father, General Lázaro Cárdenas del Río

• Upon receiving the distinction, Cárdenas stated that, throughout Mexico’s history, education has been a decisive factor for social equity and opportunities for progress

The Instituto Politécnico Nacional (IPN) awarded the Honorary Doctorate (Doctorado Honoris Causa) to engineer Cuauhtémoc Cárdenas Solórzano, a distinction that recognizes exceptional careers in science, technology, the arts, and public administration.

During a solemn ceremony held at the IPN Council Chamber, Director General Arturo Reyes Sandoval emphasized that, within the framework of the Institute’s 90th anniversary, it is essential to pause and recognize an individual whose life story and public struggle embody the very essence of the Polytechnic’s motto: placing “La Técnica al Servicio de la Patria.”

“Today, the Politécnico embraces one of its own, engineer Cuauhtémoc Cárdenas Solórzano, through the conferral of the Honorary Doctorate. We embrace him not as a distinguished visitor, but as a brother by origin. We are united by the same founding spirit: the vision of his father, General Lázaro Cárdenas, who understood that a nation’s sovereignty is not decreed, but built in classrooms,” stated the IPN Director General.

Recalling the democratic path traced by Cárdenas, Reyes Sandoval affirmed that, at their core, the educational project of the IPN and the life work of the engineer share the same conviction: progress only gains legitimacy when it reaches those who have historically been left behind.

“We share with you,” he added, “that same founding vision of your father, General Lázaro Cárdenas, who understood that sovereignty is built in classrooms, in our own industries, and in the furrows of our land.”

The Director General also reiterated that the IPN’s educational mission seeks to provide the daughters and sons of working families with technical knowledge as a tool for emancipation. He further acknowledged Cuauhtémoc Cárdenas’ steadfast commitment to defending the nation’s strategic energy resources, including oil, electricity, and other key assets.

In his address, engineer Cuauhtémoc Cárdenas Solórzano expressed his gratitude for the distinction and stated that, 90 years after the founding of the IPN, its creators and successors should take pride in seeing the Politécnico stand today as an institution of excellence and an indispensable pillar of Mexico’s Higher Education System.

“I wish to express my deepest gratitude to the Instituto Politécnico Nacional, particularly to its General Consultative Council, for awarding me the degree of Honorary Doctor, which I receive with emotion and special affection. This institution emerged from the most significant libertarian impulse and social justice movement that sought to fulfill the objectives of the Mexican Revolution, particularly in the field of education,” he said.

Cárdenas Solórzano stressed that education has played a decisive role in promoting social equity and opportunities for progress. Those who gain access to schooling, advance, and move beyond educational cycles, he noted, achieve better life opportunities. Social mobility in Mexico and Latin America, he added, largely takes place through public institutions of higher education.

At the conclusion of the ceremony, engineer Cárdenas and the IPN Director General moved to Lázaro Cárdenas Plaza, located in Zacatenco, where they placed a floral offering before the statue of the founder of the Institute, General Lázaro Cárdenas del Río, and paid tribute to the leader who laid the foundations of scientific and technological education in Mexico.

Accompanied by family and friends, Cuauhtémoc Cárdenas admired the statue of General Lázaro Cárdenas del Río and the commemorative plaque donated by the Government of the State of Michoacán in 1976, bearing the idea that Polytechnic students “will always remember the man who allowed them to study.”

For more information, visit www.ipn.mx

===000===