Moiss Senz

Diagnoses

Personal

Vocation

Mexican leading education advocate and reformer of education in Mexico during the first half of the 20th century. Many of the philosophies and programs that Sáenz introduced during his tenure as Sub-Secretary for the Secretariat of Public Education in the 1920s came from the influences of his mentor, John Dewey, a prominent American philosopher, psychologist, and educator in the early to mid-20th century. A great deal of Sáenz’s education policy ideology, and his political beliefs in general, was concerned with the relationship of society to its indigenous peoples. Specifically, he subscribed to a version of the old Liberal idea of assimilation, but with a twist. Rather than forcing Indians to abandon their old culture to adapt to modern society, he wanted to see modern society make some concessions to fit the indigenous peoples. He saw education as the most promising avenue to implement this assimilation. Moisés had a brother, Aaron, who also rose to prominence in post-Revolutionary Mexico, first as a politician (he served as Secretary of Foreign Affairs, Secretary of Public Education and Governor of Nuevo León) and later as a sugar baron known to some as the “king of Mexican sugar.” After completing his run as Sub-Secretary for Public Education in 1930, Sáenz was rewarded with an appointment as Mexico’s ambassador to Peru. Moisés Sáenz died on 24 October 1941 of pneumonia while still stationed in Lima. He was 53. Link to Wikipedia biography