With the reform of secondary education of 2006, Mexican secondary schools introduced Tutoría, in which one teacher accompanies one class. A paper presented to COMIE, the Mexican council for educational research, describes it as an “espacio de acompañamiento, gestión y orientación grupal” (a space of accompaniment, management and group guidance). Each group has one tutor, who must be one of its subject teachers.
The Moral Primer
In 1944, the writer Alfonso Reyes wrote the Cartilla moral, a primer of moral guidance. Its text states: “La moral nos obliga a una serie de respetos” (Morality obliges us to a series of respects).
In January 2019, the government of President López Obrador began distributing a new edition of 10,000 copies. Expansión reported that the reissue had stirred controversy.
Almost Like a Family
In 1918, the Cervecería Cuauhtémoc of Monterrey founded a cooperative for its workers. In 2011, Expansión described it: the company “creó una sociedad cooperativa, que se encargaría de manejar los servicios para los empleados y sus parientes, casi como si se tratara de los miembros de una familia” (created a cooperative that would manage services for the employees and their relatives, almost as if they were members of a family).
Unasked Advice
In October 2023, the columnist Mauricio Candiani wrote in El Financiero about giving advice. He ended with a saying of his grandmother: “un consejo no pedido, jóvenes, es una agresión manifiesta” (unasked advice, young people, is an open aggression).
His point was that advice works when it is asked for, or offered with permission, and at the right time.
Listen to Advice
El que no oye consejo no llega a viejo. “Whoever does not listen to advice does not reach old age.” In Decires, a journal of UNAM, José Carlos Escobar Hernández lists it among the sayings that propose rules of life: “Es aconsejable escuchar los consejos de quienes tienen la experiencia” (It is advisable to listen to the advice of those who have experience).
Benevolence and Control
In 2003, P. G. Martínez published “Paternalism as a positive form of leader-subordinate exchange: Evidence from México” in the journal Management Research. The study draws on field data from organizations in Mexico and from U.S. organizations owned by Mexican immigrants. The leaders it describes look after their employees’ welfare at work and in their personal lives.
Martínez concludes that “paternalism combines paternalists’ benevolent acts with their subtle control over subordinates’ flexibility.”
Never Doubt a Mother’s Word
The psychologist Rogelio Díaz-Guerrero studied beliefs he called historic-sociocultural premises. They include “Un hijo debe siempre obedecer a sus padres” (A son must always obey his parents) and “Nunca se debe dudar de la palabra de una madre” (One must never doubt a mother’s word).
In 1952, he gave a questionnaire to 473 students. According to an article in Cuadernos Fronterizos, a journal of the Autonomous University of Ciudad Juárez, “entre el 83 y el 92% respondió afirmativamente a tres de esas preguntas” (between 83 and 92 percent answered yes to three of those questions). The article does not say which three questions these were.
The Answer to Sister Filotea
When Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz answered the letter of “Sor Filotea de la Cruz” in 1691, she began with an apology: “No mi voluntad, mi poca salud y mi justo temor han suspendido tantos días mi respuesta” (Not my will, but my poor health and my just fear have held back my answer for so many days). She then wondered how such favor could come to a simple nun.
Later in the letter, she explained herself. “Fue tan vehemente y poderosa la inclinación a las letras” (So vehement and powerful was the inclination to letters), she wrote, and she called it “este natural impulso que Dios puso en mí” (this natural impulse that God put in me).
Javier Has to Decide
In May 2026, Diego Lainez spoke publicly after coach Javier Aguirre left him out of Mexico’s squad for the World Cup. El Universal quoted him: “Javier tiene que tomar decisiones y cuenta con muchas opciones” (Javier has to make decisions and has many options). He added: “Javier siempre ha sido muy respetuoso conmigo” (Javier has always been very respectful toward me).
Do Not Grumble
Article 11 of the Law of Discipline of the Mexican Army, Air Force and National Guard reads: “El militar se abstendrá de murmurar con motivo de las disposiciones superiores o de las obligaciones” (A soldier shall refrain from grumbling about the orders of superiors or about duties). Article 3 names the bases of military discipline: “la obediencia, y un alto concepto del honor” (obedience and a high concept of honor).
Article 14 sets a limit. It forbids a soldier to give orders whose execution would be a crime.