Participation of the Pan American Institute of Geography and History
________________________________________________________________________________________
On 11 October, the Heroic Military College of Mexico celebrated the bicentennial of its founding with a ceremony held at the site where it was established, the Fortress of San Carlos in the city of Perote, Veracruz. The ceremony was presided over by Andrés Manuel López Obrador, Constitutional President of the United Mexican States and Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces.
At this grand ceremony, the Head of State was accompanied on the podium by General Luis Cresencio Sandoval González, Secretary of National Defence; Admiral José Rafael Ojeda Durán, Secretary of the Navy; and Mr Cuitláhuac García Jiménez, Governor of the state of Veracruz, the Secretary of Public Education (SEP), Ms Leticia Ramírez Amaya, among other federal government officials.
The Temple of Honor and Loyalty, as the Heroic Military College is also known, has been one of the most important institutions in the Military Education System of the Ministry of National Defense since its creation as a military educational institution. Since its founding October 11, 1823, it has been the place of study where the commanding officers of the Mexican Army and, in recent years, the National Guard are trained.
To remember the heroes of the homeland, the Chief Executive read the roll of honor for the Heroes of Chapultepec of 1847 and the Defense of Veracruz of 1914; and at the conclusion, six companies of cadets fired a rifle salute, followed by the recitation of the poem Fortaleza de San Carlos, performed by two cadets from the same school.
To keep alive the fervent flame of service to the homeland, the cauldron was lit with the Fire of Loyalty, which was transported on September 13 to the facilities of Fort Perote, Veracruz, representing the virtues and integrity of the military.
As part of the event, the President awarded the “Bicentennial of the Heroic Military College” medal to two former directors of the Heroic Military College and its current director, Brigadier General D.E.M. Jorge Antonio Maldonado Guevara, to distinguish and recognize military personnel who have collaborated in the development and establishment of the institution.
On the occasion of this important celebration, we at the Pan American Institute of Geography and History congratulate this military institution with a tradition of honor and loyalty for its 200 years as a cornerstone of military education and for the loyalty it has shown throughout Mexico’s history. Similarly, we congratulate the Ministry of National Defense for having a solid and committed educational institution such as the Heroic Military College, a campus that has always given its all, even to the point of sacrifice, “For the Honor of Mexico.”
_________________________________________________________________________
The Pan American Institute of Geography and History on the Bicentennial of the Heroic Military College
On the occasion of the bicentennial celebration of the institutional and academic life of the Heroic Military College, Retired Major Historian Antonio Campuzano Rosales, Secretary General of the Pan American Institute of Geography and History (PAIGH), was invited by the Ministry of National Defense to accompany the President of Mexico, so that, in his capacity as a military historian, he could give the Head of State a tour of the historical importance of the Fortress of San Carlos in Perote, Veracruz, as the first headquarters of this institution, which celebrated 200 years of institutional life on October 11.
It was General Guadalupe Victoria who proposed that all the cadets in the Army Corps be gathered and sent to the Fortress of San Carlos to receive their military education there. Thus, on October 11, 1823, General José Joaquín Herrera, Minister of War and Navy, issued a decree creating the Military College and ordered its transfer from the former Inquisition building to the Fortress of San Carlos, which was named the Military College of Perote.
Throughout its 200 years of academic life, the Heroic Military College has had various locations, among the most emblematic of which are Perote, Chapultepec, Popotla, and the current one in Tlalpan, Mexico City. However, the IPGH is pleased to note that one of these locations was the former Archbishopric of Tacubaya in Mexico City, from 1869 to 1882, which is now the headquarters of this international organization, meaning that the histories of both institutions are closely linked.
Thus, the current head of the PAIGH, Retired Major Historian Antonio Campuzano Rosales, participated in this event of national importance, due to the history shared by this institution with a campus with 200 years of tradition of honor and loyalty, whose campus at one point in its long history was the same facility now occupied by this international organization.
“Science in Service of Peace”
