José Vasconcelos Library
Encyclopedia
Mexico City
Mexico City
Mexico City is the Federal District , capital of Mexico and seat of the federal powers of the Mexican Union. It is a federal entity within Mexico which is not part of any one of the 31 Mexican states but belongs to the federation as a whole...
's José Vasconcelos Library, labeled by the press as the "Megabiblioteca" ("megalibrary"), is considered a controversial and also the largest investment in infrastructure in the Vicente Fox
Vicente Fox
Vicente Fox Quesada is a Mexican former politician who served as President of Mexico from 1 December 2000 to 30 November 2006 and currently serves as co-President of the Centrist Democrat International, an international organization of Christian democratic political parties.Fox was elected...
administration. It is dedicated to José Vasconcelos
José Vasconcelos
José Vasconcelos Calderón was a Mexican writer, philosopher and politician. He is one of the most influential and controversial personalities in the development of modern Mexico. His philosophy of "indigenismo" affected all aspects of Mexican sociocultural, political, and economic...
, the former philosopher, presidential candidate and president of the National Library of Mexico
National Library of Mexico
The National Library of Mexico is located in Ciudad Universitaria, the main campus of the National Autonomous University of Mexico in Mexico City. It was first established on October 26, 1833....
. The library is spread on 38,000 square meters (409,000 sq ft) and had an initial planned cost of 954 million pesos (roughly 98 million US dollars). The Congress of Mexico
Congress of Mexico
The Congress of the Union is the legislative branch of the Mexican government...
proposed plans to reduce the budget of 2006 that included cuts for all three branches of government. National Action Party
National Action Party (Mexico)
The National Action Party , is one of the three main political parties in Mexico. The party's political platform is generally considered Centre-Right in the Mexican political spectrum. Since 2000, the President of Mexico has been a member of this party; both houses have PAN pluralities, but the...
(PAN) presented an alternative budget that preserved funds for Enciclomedia
Enciclomedia
Enciclomedia is a program of the Secretaría de Educación Pública of Mexico. It was the original idea of Dr. Felipe Bracho Carpizo in 1988 when he was the Director of Oriented Research of National Council of Science and Technology.Dr...
and the José Vasconcelos Library.
Fox inaugurated the library on May 16, 2006, and stated that this is one of the most advanced constructions of the 21st century, and it would be spoken of throughout the world. This inauguration took place a week before the deadline the president had to promote his accomplishments before the 2006 presidential election.
The library had to be closed down in March 2007 due to defects in its construction.
The Superior Auditor of the Federation detected 36 irregularities in its construction and issued 13 motions of responsibility for public servants of the federal government. Among the irregularities found was the misplacement of marble blocks at a cost of 15 million pesos (roughly 1.4 million dollars).
The library is located in downtown Delegación Cuauhtémoc
Cuauhtémoc, D.F.
Cuauhtémoc, named after the former Aztec leader, is one of the 16 boroughs of the Federal district of Mexico City. It consists of the oldest parts of the city, extending over what was the entire city in the 1920s. This area is the historic and culture center of the city, although it is not the...
at the Buenavista train station where the Metro
Mexico City Metro
The Mexico City Metro , officially called Sistema de Transporte Colectivo, is a metro system that serves the metropolitan area of Mexico City...
, Suburban Train, and Metrobus
Mexico City Metrobús
Metrobús is a bus rapid transit system in Mexico City, Mexico. It comprises 3 lines that traverse the city and connect with other forms of transit. It was officially opened to the public with service along Line 1 on 19 June 2005...
meet.
Gabriel Orozco
Gabriel Orozco is a Mexican artist, who in 1998 was called "one of the most influential artists of this decade, and probably the next one too." He was born in Jalapa, Veracruz, Mexico and educated in the Escuela Nacional de Artes Plásticas between 1981 and 1984. He then continued his education...
's Ballena (Whale), prominently located at the center of the building.
During Calderón's administration, efforts to restore it continued with a further investment of 32 million pesos (roughly three million dollars).
It was reopened to public on November 2008 after 22 months.
External links
- Biblioteca Vasconcelos — Official website
- TAX: BIBLIOTECA PÚBLICA DE MÉXICO | CIUDAD DE MEXICO — project page at architect's site