Mexico, Competence - understand-culture

The Debate of 1994

In 1994, Mexico held its first televised presidential debate. The candidate of the PAN, Diego Fernández de Cevallos, was seen as the winner. In a poll released the next day by the PAN’s secretary general, Felipe Calderón, “54 por ciento de los entrevistados pensaba que el panista se había llevado la noche” (54 percent of those interviewed thought that the PAN candidate had won the night). Ernesto Zedillo had 24 percent and Cuauhtémoc Cárdenas 8 percent.

In 2014, the news site Sopitas recalled: “En los días siguientes, extrañamente, Diego Fernández desapareció de los medios de comunicación” (In the following days, strangely, Diego Fernández disappeared from the media).

Form Is Substance

En política, la forma es fondo. “In politics, form is substance.” UNAM Global attributes the phrase to the politician Jesús Reyes Heroles and quotes it in a longer form: “seremos inflexibles en la defensa de las ideas, pero respetuosos en las formas, pues en política, frecuentemente, la forma es fondo” (we will be inflexible in defending ideas but respectful in forms, because in politics, form is often substance).

The common short form drops the word frecuentemente, often. No original speech or date for the phrase could be found.

Putting On the Shirt

Ponerse la camiseta, “to put on the shirt,” means to commit to a team. The sports newspaper Récord explains that “ponerse la camiseta implica ser parte de” a team, and that a player merges with the goals of the team. The phrase is also used at work.

In August 2025, Publimetro quoted a training specialist at the human resources firm Hooman, who said that “70% de los empleados del país ya no se ponen la camiseta de la empresa” (70 percent of the country’s employees no longer put on the company’s shirt).

Grasshopper Politicians

In Mexican politics, a chapulín, a grasshopper, is a politician who jumps from one post or party to another. Uno TV cites the historical dictionary of the Royal Spanish Academy for the verb chapulinear: “abandonar un puesto por otro” (to leave one post for another). It describes chapulines as politicians who “cambian su militancia de un partido a otro” (change their membership from one party to another).

The Usurper

Victoriano Huerta was a general of the federal army. He formed the federal División del Norte in Torreón and defeated the rebels of Pascual Orozco at Conejos, Rellano, La Cruz and Bachimba. In February 1913, during the Decena Trágica, he betrayed President Francisco I. Madero and removed him. On February 19, Huerta was installed as president. Madero and Vice President José María Pino Suárez were killed on February 22.

Huerta became known as el usurpador, the usurper. The encyclopedia Biografías y Vidas writes that he prepared “la traición que le ha hecho pasar a la historia” (the betrayal for which he has gone down in history).

The Child Heroes

On September 13, 1847, during the war with the United States, the Castle of Chapultepec fell. Mexico honors six young defenders as the Niños Héroes, the Child Heroes: Juan de la Barrera, Juan Escutia, Agustín Melgar, Fernando Montes de Oca, Vicente Suárez and Francisco Márquez. In the best-known story, Escutia wrapped himself in the flag and jumped from the castle.

The historian Alejandro Rosas disputes this story. He told Chilango: “Escutia no murió por un salto ni envuelto en una bandera” (Escutia did not die from a jump or wrapped in a flag).

From Chivas to América

In January 2024, “Chicote” Calderón moved from Chivas, the club of Guadalajara, to its great rival, América. On March 16, 2024, he returned to the Estadio Akron for the Clásico Nacional. ESPN noted that “hace solo tres meses defendía los colores del Rebaño Sagrado” (only three months ago he defended the colors of the Sacred Flock), as Chivas is known.

The fans “abuchearon al jugador en cada balón que tocó” (booed the player every time he touched the ball). When he was substituted, they threw cups and other objects at him. The match ended 0-0.

Licenciado

On December 1, 1946, Miguel Alemán Valdés became president of Mexico. He was a civilian and a law graduate of UNAM. According to México Desconocido, official protocol used his academic degree “como título de su investidura” (as the title of his office).

Many politicians then began to use licenciado as a title of prestige. Mi licenciado became “sinónimo de poder” (a synonym for power) in politics, the law and the bureaucracy. From there the use spread to the rest of society.

Titles Instead of Names

In Mexico, a university degree becomes a form of address. Licenciado or licenciada is used for “anyone who has a degree in any number of fields,” one guide explains. Engineers are addressed as ingeniero or ingeniera, and teachers, university professors included, as maestro or maestra. Another guide notes that calling someone simply Ingeniero is “completely acceptable” even when the speaker knows the person’s first name.

Usurping a Profession

Article 250 of Mexico’s Federal Penal Code punishes anyone who claims the standing of a professional without the legal title. The penalty is one to six years in prison and a fine.

The title rests on the cédula profesional, which the Ministry of Public Education issues through its Directorate General of Professions. The cédula is required in fields such as health, law, architecture and engineering.