The Ministry of Public Education (SEP) stated that the textbooks will not be changed in any way that alters the essence of the 'New Mexican School'. The department acknowledged Marx Arriaga's participation in the development of the 107 free textbooks but indicated that there were disagreements regarding the updates requested by the Undersecretariat of Basic Education. SEP specified that it requested the incorporation of more content in indigenous languages, guaranteeing large-print and Braille formats, expanding recognition to indigenous and Afro-descendant peoples, designing materials for students in situations of mobility, strengthening content in humanism and healthy living, and including more women in history books, where 'their presence is still insufficient'. According to the communiqué, Arriaga refused the changes 'arguing that any modification would be an attack on the legacy of Andrés Manuel López Obrador'. The printing of teacher's booklets edited in 2023 was also proposed, which, according to the department, was rejected. SEP explained that on January 28, a meeting was held between the Secretary of Education and Arriaga to propose the possibility of him taking another position within the government, in order to allow the implementation of the suggested changes. 'However, he rejected the offer and stated that he would evaluate whether to present his resignation'. A joint agreement was reached with Marx Arriaga that, in case he decided not to resign on February 15, he himself suggested that a legal route be taken to free up the position, and he would agree. Regarding the administrative procedure, the department reported that his position changed its nature to become a position of free designation, which allows for a new appointment as of February 16. It emphasized that 'it was not a dismissal, firing, or eviction', although it described the accompaniment of security personnel during the notification as 'absolutely reproachable'. President Claudia Sheinbaum affirmed that the Free Textbooks will not suffer modifications that alter their central content and that the New Mexican School will remain part of the educational project of the so-called Fourth Transformation. During the presentation of the expansion of the National High School in San Pablo del Monte, Tlaxcala, she stated that with the governments of the Fourth Transformation, 'something very important changed: the way of educating young people, the contents of primary and secondary school'. She assured that this Sunday she will hold an assembly with her followers in which 'the political actions that will continue' will be defined. Marx Arriaga Navarro confirmed that the Secretary of Education, Mario Delgado, offered him a position abroad—which he later specified was in the embassy of Costa Rica—in exchange for leaving the General Directorate of Educational Materials of the Secretariat of Public Education (SEP), a proposal he rejected because he considered it implied allowing changes to the Free Textbooks (LTG). 'It was for him to leave this post, and allow the textbooks to be changed. And it is true, he offered it, and I did not want to take it, because I was not going to betray the teaching base', he affirmed from his office during a live broadcast on his Facebook account, which lasted for several hours. Arriaga said he preferred to remain in his position 'even a few more weeks' to defend the materials developed within the framework of the New Mexican School (NEM) and the work of those who participated in its construction. He stated that since it was a diplomatic position 'he was going to live an ambassador's life', as his salary would not have been regulated 'by republican austerity'. He even commented that he could have been 'the first Texcoco ambassador to Costa Rica', although he maintained that he valued more the impact of his work on the educational materials. 'I preferred to stay and defend, even if it's a few more weeks, the materials of all the colleagues in the country who believed in this project, and today, seeing, at this hour, all the works, I am well paid, that is, it was worth it', he pointed out in the broadcast he titled '24 hours of protest with proposal'. He also denied having opposed the inclusion of content related to women in the textbooks, as SEP indicated in a communiqué published on Saturday. He indicated that the Secretary ordered an investigation into the actions of the officials involved. He also considered 'absolutely unnecessary and excessive' the accompaniment of security personnel and announced that it will be requested that the Internal Control Unit investigate who requested it. On Saturday, Arriaga disseminated in his X account a pronouncement under the signature of the Committees for the Defense of the New Mexican School and its Free Textbooks, in which his dismissal is rejected. The document states that it is an 'unfounded and illegal dismissal' and warns that the removal represents 'a direct blow to the heart of the New Mexican School and the dignity of the teaching profession'. It also demands 'clarity and transparency' on the pedagogical reasons for the administrative movement and demands that the Free Textbooks not be modified without prior reforms to the General Law of Education and the study plan, in addition to open calls for new materials. The pronouncement also includes salary and labor demands for the teaching profession, such as a 100% increase to compensate for accumulated losses and permanent positions for graduates of normal schools.
