Person

José Vasconcelos

1882–1959 · 20th century

José Vasconcelos was a Mexican philosopher, writer and politician who, as secretary of public education from 1921 to 1924, built schools and libraries, sent teachers into the countryside and commissioned murals from Diego Rivera and other painters. His essay The Cosmic Race (1925) celebrated racial mixing as the destiny of Latin America. He ran unsuccessfully for president in 1929.

José Vasconcelos
Image: Unknown author · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons

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Cite this entry
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). José Vasconcelos. In The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/jose-vasconcelos
MLA
“José Vasconcelos.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/jose-vasconcelos. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “José Vasconcelos.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/jose-vasconcelos.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘José Vasconcelos’, The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/jose-vasconcelos (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random entry ↻