Photo: SEP

By KELIN DILLON

On Wednesday, Oct. 4, the First Court Chamber of Mexico’s Supreme Court Justice of the Nation (SCJN) unanimously rejected a constitutional lawsuit filed by the Chihuahua state government surrounding the distribution of the Secretariat of Public Education’s (SEP) controversial new textbooks.

The suit was first presented by the administration of National Action Party (PAN) Chihuahua Governor Maru Campos back in August with claims that the SEP violated the Mexican Constitution by circumventing the standard approval procedures for the educational materials’ content.

Article 113 of Mexico’s General Education Law, the legislation states that the SEP must create free educational materials “through procedures that allow the participation of the various social sectors involved in education.”

In an Aug. 10 ruling, SCJN Minister Luis María Aguila granted Campos the suspension of the textbooks’ implementation in Chihuahuan schools.

According to the SCJN, the Chihuahuan government has no right to reject the development and dissemination of the SEP textbooks as they are under the authority of the federal government.

Meanwhile, the government of Coahuila maintains a pending suit against the distribution of the SEP textbooks in its state, which is slated to be presented by SCJN Minister Arturo Zaldívar to the court for resolution.