Rutilio Escandón witnesses delivery of the Belisario Domínguez Medal to Elena Poniatowska

2023-04-20 06:40:37

• The governor recognized the award-winner for her contribution to Mexican society through an extensive work in which she portrays important historical events in the country
• The Belisario Domínguez Medal is the highest distinction awarded by the Senate of the Republic
• Thanks to Rosario Castellanos I learned the words of Belisario Domínguez, whom I admired for his heroic denunciation, said Elena Poniatowska

Governor Rutilio Escandón Cadenas attended the delivery of the Belisario Domínguez Medal to the writer, journalist and activist, Elena Poniatowska Amor, who received the highest distinction granted by the Senate of the Republic to Mexican men and women who have stood out for their science or their virtue in an eminent degree, as servants of the country or humanity.

In the solemn session held in the Antigua Casona de Xicoténcatl, the President of the Board of Directors of the Senate of the Republic, Alejandro Armenta Mier, and before the Secretary of the Interior, Adán Augusto López Hernández, representative of the President of Mexico, Andrés Manuel López Obrador , Elena Poniatowska received this award.

After witnessing the delivery of the medal, the Chiapas president recognized the winner for her contribution to Mexican society through an extensive work in which she portrays important historical events in the country.

“I congratulate and recognize the writer Elena Poniatowska for her great contribution to history, to culture and for her great love for Mexico, which is reflected through her investigative work, journalism, literature, but, above all, her his fight for the most vulnerable sectors through the word”, he said.

For her part, Elena Poniatowska Amor expressed her gratitude for this distinction, which, she said, she will carry with honor, because, although her life heroes are her relatives Paula and Carolina Amor, characters such as Belisario Domínguez, Rosario Castellanos, Octavio Paz, León Portilla, Carlos Fuentes, Demetrio Vallejo and José Revueltas, have represented a guide in their walk on the path of letters.

“Thanks to Rosario Castellanos I learned the words of Belisario Domínguez, whom I admired for his heroic denunciation. And today, at 91 years old and still climbing the ladder, I have the enormous distinction of receiving this award from whom I have admired so much, I did not imagine it. This award is a door that opens suddenly, it is a possibility for the future and a recognition of the past for those who, like me, say goodbye, ”she emphasized when naming and recognizing the women who in previous years were also worthy of this recognition.

Poniatowska recounted the steps of her life and work when she discovered, in 1953, her desire to write in a friendly and competitive environment. She shared that, over the years, she is still that young questioner who walked among popular characters, the one who interviewed well-known figures from the cultural, political, artistic, religious, and medical environment and also those who, unfortunately, were serving a sentence in lecumberri.

“I witnessed the heroism of the victims of the 1957 earthquakes and the heroism of the mothers and students of 1968, in Tlatelolco; Living through these events continues to be a deep wound to this day,” he pronounced, also mentioning the rise of the Zapatista movement in 1994.

Within this framework, Senator Alejandra Lagunes Soto Ruiz, Secretary of the Board of Directors, read the historic proclamation of Dr. and Senator Belisario Domínguez; while, when recalling the career and merits of the winner, Senator Sasil de León Villard, president of the Belisario Domínguez Medal Commission, highlighted Elena Poniatowska for her feminist ideal, because through the world of letters gave women a central role in society.

“Today the Senate of the Republic recognizes Elena Poniatowska Amor as a reference for Mexican women, as well as for the different generations that through her works have been able to learn about the political and historical context of the other Mexico, that of the forgotten. She is the most intense chronicler of the multiple Mexican reality, she is an institution of journalism and cultural life, ”said de León Villard.

Similarly, the senator highlighted the outstanding recognitions granted to Poniatowska Amor, including Honoris Causa doctorates from several universities in various countries around the world, the National Journalism Award, as well as the Miguel Cervantes Award, considered the most important award of the literature in Spanish, among others of great worldwide importance.

A minute of silence was also observed in order to honor the memory of the members of the Mexican Order of the Belisario Domínguez Medal who have died; Likewise, the name of the winner was unveiled on the Wall of Honor of the Belisario Domínguez Medal, and an honor guard was held before the statue of Senator Belisario Domínguez in the central courtyard of the Casona de Xicoténcatl.

Present were: the representative of the National Supreme Court of Justice, Minister Alberto Pérez Dayán; the president of the Chamber of Deputies, Santiago Creel Miranda; the president of the Judiciary of the State of Chiapas, Guillermo Ramos Pérez; the mayor of Comitán de Domínguez, Mario Antonio Guillén Domínguez; the deputy president of the Chiapas State Congress, Sonia Catalina Álvarez; senators, men and women deputies, as well as personalities who have also received the Belisario Domínguez Medal.