Editor’s Comment 36, no. 3

Abstract

Tackling both historical and contemporary Mexican issues, while forging a dynamic dialogue among scholars across different disciplines, is at the heart of MS/ES. At a time of highly divisive politics, when Mexico and Mexicans are vilified by the dominant powers in the United States, publishing robust scholarship about a variety of topics pertinent to Mexico is more important than ever. In this spirit, I am glad to introduce this issue (36, no. 3). Containing four essays, it displays the multidisciplinary nature of the journal and the variety and richness of topics that attract the interests of scholars in the field. The first essay, by Kristine Vanden Berghe, analyzes how to interpret literary genres that fall outside of the esthetic canons of a given time. She provides an original and thought-provoking interpretation of Nellie Campobello’s Cartucho (published in 1931), a classic of Mexican literature. Situating it as a case of the so-called escritura errante, Vanden Berghe analyzes the regional ethos that transpires in this novel, which reflects the views of common people historically excluded from the centers of power. Addressing northern Mexico, the essay contributes to decenter the study of literature, pointing out the importance of regional and marginal literatures. Therefore, it offers fresh alternatives to hegemonic esthetic canons, as well as poignant social critique of the dominant political order. The second essay, by historian Elisa Speckman Guerra, examines two significant historical episodes that marked the political and popular demise of general Humberto Mariles, a prominent military and equestrian sports figure in Mexico in the 1940s and 1950s. Relying on detailed archival research, Speckman moves between social history and cultural history. In doing so, she contributes to the historiography of criminality and justice in those decades. This study offers a window to understanding how—despite the push for change by the court of public opinion to end the impunity of powerful military and political elites—cronyism and complicity among political, judicial, and police authorities still ran strong during the years of political modernization in Mexico.