Because I hold the firm conviction that universities, especially public universities, should be intimately in touch with the concrete reality, the environment, and society in which they exist, and should consequently exist as a space for criticism and proposals for economic and social policy to achieve justice, liberty, and welfare, I feel obliged to describe a few of the emotions and memories related to my professional life that came to the surface as I read this book, and urge others to do the same, and not only students and scholars, but also anyone and everyone who strives on a daily basis, whether through the State or society, to achieve economic and social development for Mexico, while making sure that we do not fall into the trap of idealizing the past, as Tzvetan Todorov wisely warns in his work, The Uses and Abuses of Memory . My mind wanders back first to the 1970s, in the age of industrialization, regional development, and import substitution policies.
Como tengo la firme convicción de que la Universidad, sobre todo la pública, debe estar íntimamente interconectada con la realidad concreta, el entorno y la sociedad, y ser consecuentemente espacio de reclamos y propuestas en torno a la política económica y social en aras de la justicia, la libertad y el bienestar, me siento obligado a describir algunas de las múltiples sensaciones y remembranzas conectadas con mi vida profesional en aras de promover que este libro no sólo lo lean estudiantes y académicos, sino quienes en la cotidianidad, trabajan hoy, desde el Estado o la sociedad, por el desarrollo económico y social del país, evitando caer en idealizaciones del pasado como bien advierte Tzuetan Todorov en su libro Los usos de la memoria.