The rector of the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), Leonardo Lomelí Vanegas, appointed Manuel Palma Rangel as Secretary of Prevention, Support for Mobility, and University Security (SPAMSU). He will assume the position starting this Saturday, November 15. The rector instructed him to convene the community and security commissions to conduct a diagnostic evaluation to identify areas for improvement, with the objective of consolidating the well-being and security of the university community. This recent appointment comes almost two months after a stabbing and murder of a student at the CCH Sur campus. There, 16-year-old Jesús Israel was attacked with a guadaña (a bladed weapon with a long handle and a curved blade) by 19-year-old student Lex Ashton, who was arrested and is imprisoned in the Oriente Penitentiary. In the university council's meeting room, Leonardo Lomelí urged Manuel Palma to maintain dialogue and listening as the axes of his task, as well as to promote co-responsibility and participation of the university community in building environments where healthy coexistence, a culture of peace, and solidarity prevail, according to a UNAM communiqué. Accompanied by directors and university officials, Lomelí Vanegas thanked Raúl Arcenio Aguilar Tamayo for the work done at the head of the SPAMSU and recognized his work and closeness with directors and communities. His work has been characterized by permanently promoting a person-centered approach in the development of laws and action protocols, as well as favoring the development of security strategies oriented towards professionalization and building trust with society. Likewise, he announced that he will continue to collaborate in university tasks. Rector Lomelí reiterated the commitment of officials and academics from UNAM to maintain, at all times, full adherence to university values and to develop their activities with total professionalism, in order to continue forming critical citizens who contribute to strengthening social cohesion and plural spaces for deliberation that enrich the country's democratic and institutional life. Manuel Palma expressed his commitment to strengthen the strategies that allow the University to continue to be a safe space where students, academics, and personnel can carry out their work and develop all their abilities. In thanking the rector's confidence in appointing him at the head of the SPAMSU, he stated that he will work with a focus on constant prevention, communication, and coordination with university entities. Palma Rangel is a doctor in Political Economy and a professor at the UNAM Faculty of Economics for 25 years, where he was also a Technical Advisor, which has allowed him to have permanent contact with the university community. He has conducted research stays as a visiting researcher at Tufts University in Boston, and has taught at prestigious institutions such as the Centro de Estudios Superiores Navales (CESNAV). Throughout his career, he has published essays in recognized academic and dissemination journals, such as the Revista Mexicana de Sociología (IIS-UNAM) and the Revista de Análisis Económico (RAE) of Chile. In the area of public management, Palma Rangel has served as an official in security and justice cabinets at the federal and local levels.
