Mexico City Education Official Accuses Secretary of Corruption, Defends Free Textbooks
Mexico City. Marx Arriaga Navarro, former Director General of Educational Materials at the Secretariat of Public Education (SEP), confirmed that Secretary Mario Delgado offered him an ambassadorship “months ago,” which he declined. Arriaga Navarro acknowledged that such positions offer salaries “not regulated by republican austerity” and a lifestyle befitting an ambassador.
During a live broadcast on his social media channels lasting over 11 hours, Arriaga Navarro stated he rejected the offer because “it was to get me to leave this position and allow the textbooks to be changed.” He confirmed the offer was made, but he refused it, stating he would not “betray the teaching base.”
Following Secretary Delgado’s public disclosure of the offer, Arriaga Navarro affirmed he “preferred to stay and defend, even if only for a few more weeks, the materials of all the colleagues in the country who believed in this project.” He stated that witnessing the work completed, he felt well compensated, and that it had been worthwhile.
He indicated he could have been “the first Texcoco ambassador to Costa Rica,” but chose not to, stating “Here’s worth more.” He expressed satisfaction that Lucy, an illustrator, was able to publish her work, projects were completed, murals were created, and communities were able to reclaim lost spaces and transform them into symbols of resistance – a value he believes is “priceless.”
Arriaga Navarro also refuted claims that he opposed including content about women in the Free Textbooks, highlighting that hundreds of women participated in their creation as illustrators, project developers, and evaluators.
ACLU Sues Department of Defense Over Banned Books
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has filed a lawsuit against the Department of Defense’s school system, alleging that the removal of race- and gender-related books and curricula violates students’ First Amendment rights against government censorship. The suit, filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court in northeast Virginia, stems from an executive order issued by President Donald Trump in January.
Trump’s order prohibits the school system from “promoting, advancing, or otherwise inculcating … Un-American, divisive, discriminatory, radical, extremist, and irrational theories” connected to race and gender. According to the ACLU, books including Harper Lee’s “To Kill a Mockingbird” and Khaled Hosseini’s “The Kite Runner,” as well as “Hillbilly Elegy” by Vice President JD Vance, have been removed from some school libraries.
The lawsuit also alleges that curricular materials, such as a chapter on sexuality and gender in an Advanced Placement psychology course, and readings about immigration for fourth- and fifth-grade classes, have been purged. The suit was filed on behalf of 12 students from six families attending schools in Virginia, Kentucky, Italy, and Japan.
Judge Orders Military Schools to Restore Banned Books
A federal judge has ordered the Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA) to reinstate hundreds of banned books to schools serving military families. Judge Patricia Tolliver Giles ruled on October 20, 2025, that the Pentagon’s removal of books dealing with race and gender likely violated students’ First Amendment rights.
The ruling supports six military families who alleged that DoDEA “whitewashed curricula” and “quarantined” books about race, gender, and identity. DoDEA serves approximately 67,000 students in 161 schools worldwide. The suit originated from a complaint filed on April 12, 2025, involving 12 students from six families attending DoDEA schools in Quantico, Virginia; Fort Campbell, Kentucky; Italy, and Japan.
Judge Giles’ order requires DoDEA to restore the removed books within 30 days and publish a complete list of affected titles. She referenced the 1982 Supreme Court case, Island Trees v. Pico, which established that public schools cannot remove books solely because officials disagree with their content.
The Pentagon has not provided a comment regarding the ruling. DoDEA did not respond to inquiries about how or when the books will be restored, or whether the agency intends to appeal the decision.
The ACLU of Virginia and ACLU of Kentucky, representing the families, hailed the ruling as “a victory for the freedom to read.”
