Fondo de Cultura Económica (FCE or simply "Fondo") is a Spanish language, non-profit publishing group, partly funded by the Mexican government. It is based in Mexico but it has subsidiaries throughout the Spanish-speaking world. It was founded in 1934 by

Daniel Cosío Villegas Daniel Cosío Villegas (July 23, 1898 – March 10, 1976) was a Mexican prominent economist, essayist, historian, and diplomat. Cosío Villegas was born in Mexico City. After studying one year in engineering and two years of philosophy, he receiv ...

with the original purpose of providing students of economics from the Escuela Nacional de Economía with specialized books in Spanish. Soon, it expanded its interests to other subjects: humanities, literature (mostly works written in Spanish), popular science, children's books and literature for young adults. FCE's backlist encompasses more than ten thousand volumes, approximately 5,000 of which are still in print, and it has an electronic catalog of more than 1,300 titles. FCE has published the books of 65 authors who were awarded with the Nobel Prize; 33 authors awarded with the Miguel de Cervantes Prize, 29 authors honored by the Princess of Asturias Awards, and over 140 authors who were awarded the Mexican National Prize for Arts and Sciences. The word ''Económica'' ��economic”in its name does not allude to the low sales price of its books, a permanent goal of this publishing house, but to the aforementioned initial objective of publishing works on economics. Furthermore, the Mexican government provides resources to partially cover the costs of production, allowing books to be comparatively more affordable. In Mexico, FCE has a chain of 27 bookstores in cities like Aguascalientes, Apatzingán,

Mexico City Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital and largest city of Mexico, and the most populous city in North America. One of the world's alpha cities, it is located in the Valley o ...

, Nezahualcóyotl,

Colima Colima (), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Colima ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Colima), is one of the 31 states that make up the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It shares its name with its capital and main city, Colima. Colima i ...

, Durango,

Guadalajara Guadalajara ( , ) is a metropolis in western Mexico and the capital of the list of states of Mexico, state of Jalisco. According to the 2020 census, the city has a population of 1,385,629 people, making it the 7th largest city by population in Me ...

, León,

Monterrey Monterrey ( , ) is the capital and largest city of the northeastern state of Nuevo León, Mexico, and the third largest city in Mexico behind Guadalajara and Mexico City. Located at the foothills of the Sierra Madre Oriental, the city is anchor ...

Morelia Morelia (; from 1545 to 1828 known as Valladolid) is a city and municipal seat of the municipality of Morelia in the north-central part of the state of Michoacán in central Mexico. The city is in the Guayangareo Valley and is the capital and larg ...

Saltillo Saltillo () is the capital and largest city of the northeastern Mexican state of Coahuila and is also the municipal seat of the municipality of the same name. Mexico City, Monterrey, and Saltillo are all connected by a major railroad and highwa ...

and

Tuxtla Gutiérrez Tuxtla Gutiérrez (, ) is the capital and the largest city of the Mexican southeastern state of Chiapas. It is the seat of the municipality of the same name, the most developed and populated in the state. A busy government, commercial and servic ...

. In 2016, FCE opened bookstores in

Villahermosa Villahermosa ( , ; "Beautiful Village") is the capital and largest city of the Mexican state of Tabasco, and serves as the municipal seat (governing county) of the state. Located in Southeast Mexico, Villahermosa is an important city because o ...

and

Toluca Toluca , officially Toluca de Lerdo , is the States of Mexico, state capital of the State of Mexico as well as the seat of the Municipality of Toluca. With a population of 910,608 as of the 2020 census, Toluca is the fifth most populous city in M ...

. Fondo de Cultura Económica has 8 foreign branches in

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...

Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...

Ecuador Ecuador ( ; ; Quechua: ''Ikwayur''; Shuar: ''Ecuador'' or ''Ekuatur''), officially the Republic of Ecuador ( es, República del Ecuador, which literally translates as "Republic of the Equator"; Quechua: ''Ikwadur Ripuwlika''; Shuar: ''Eku ...

Guatemala Guatemala ( ; ), officially the Republic of Guatemala ( es, República de Guatemala, links=no), is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico; to the northeast by Belize and the Caribbean; to the east by H ...

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = Seal (emblem), National seal , national_motto = "Fi ...

, Spain and the United States, which cover the Spanish-speaking population from North, Central and South America and the Caribbean. Moreover, FCE has representative offices in Bolivia, Canada, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Honduras and Puerto Rico, besides having distribution partners in Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Panama and Uruguay. It publishes three periodicals: '' El Trimestre Económico,'' founded a few months before FCE itself; '' La Gaceta,'' founded in 1954; and
Diánoia
' (jointly published by FCE and the Instituto de Investigaciones Filosóficas, UNAM), in circulation since 1955. Fondo annually or biennially organizes five prizes and competitions for authors, illustrators and readers: Concurso Leamos la Ciencia para Todos (the Let's Read Science for All competition), Concurso de Álbum Ilustrado A la Orilla del Viento (the Picture Book at the Edge of the Wind competition), the Premio Hispanoamericano de Poesía para Niños (the Hispano-American Prize for Poetry for Children, together with the Fundación para las Letras Mexicanas), the

Premio Internacional de Divulgación de la Ciencia Ruy Pérez Tamayo The and its twin the are sedans sold in Japan from 2001 to 2021 by Toyota. The sedans are designated as a compact car by Japanese dimension regulations and the exterior dimensions do not change with periodic updates. Unlike Toyota's other v ...

(the Ruy Pérez Tamayo International Prize for Science Exposition), and the Concurso Iberoamericano de Ensayo para Jóvenes (the Iberoamerican Essay Competition for Youth). In 1989, FCE was awarded the

Princess of Asturias Awards The Princess of Asturias Awards ( es, Premios Princesa de Asturias, links=no, ast, Premios Princesa d'Asturies, links=no), formerly the Prince of Asturias Awards from 1981 to 2014 ( es, Premios Príncipe de Asturias, links=no), are a series of a ...

in the category of Communications and Humanities as recognition for its work in Spanish-speaking countries. In 1987, ''La Gaceta'' earned the Mexican Premio Nacional de Periodismo (National Journalism Prize).

History

Thanks to its authors, editors, and translators, Fondo de Cultura Económica has an 80-year history of being a leading participant in the higher education system and cultural and literary movements of Mexico and

Latin America Latin America or * french: Amérique Latine, link=no * ht, Amerik Latin, link=no * pt, América Latina, link=no, name=a, sometimes referred to as LatAm is a large cultural region in the Americas where Romance languages — languages derived f ...

. Among those who have shaped FCE's history are distinguished authors like

Alfonso Reyes Alfonso Reyes Ochoa (17 May 1889 in Monterrey, Nuevo León – 27 December 1959 in Mexico City) was a Mexican writer, philosopher and diplomat. He was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature five times and has been acclaimed as one of th ...

Juan Rulfo Juan Nepomuceno Carlos Pérez Rulfo Vizcaíno, best known as Juan Rulfo ( ; 16 May 1917 – 7 January 1986), was a Mexican writer, screenwriter, and photographer. He is best known for two literary works, the 1955 novel ''Pedro Páramo'', and th ...

Juan José Arreola Juan José Arreola Zúñiga (September 21, 1918 – December 3, 2001) was a Mexican writer, academic, and actor. He is considered Mexico's premier experimental short story writer of the 20th century. Arreola is recognized as one of the first Lati ...

Octavio Paz Octavio Paz Lozano (March 31, 1914 – April 19, 1998) was a Mexican poet and diplomat. For his body of work, he was awarded the 1977 Jerusalem Prize, the 1981 Miguel de Cervantes Prize, the 1982 Neustadt International Prize for Literature, and ...

Carlos Fuentes Carlos Fuentes Macías (; ; November 11, 1928 – May 15, 2012) was a Mexican novelist and essayist. Among his works are ''The Death of Artemio Cruz'' (1962), '' Aura'' (1962), '' Terra Nostra'' (1975), ''The Old Gringo'' (1985) and ''Christophe ...

Jorge Luis Borges Jorge Francisco Isidoro Luis Borges Acevedo (; ; 24 August 1899 – 14 June 1986) was an Argentine short-story writer, essayist, poet and translator, as well as a key figure in Spanish-language and international literature. His best-known bo ...

Carlos Pellicer Carlos Pellicer Cámara (10 January 1897 – 16 February 1977) was part of the first wave of modernist Mexican poets and was active in the promotion of Mexican art, pictures, and literature. An enthusiastic traveler, his work is filled with ...

Raimundo Lida Raimundo Lida (1908–1979) was an Argentine philologist, philosopher of language, literary critic and essayist. He specialised in Romance languages, Romance philology, aesthetics, the literature of the Spanish Golden Age and modernist literature ...

, José Gorostiza,

Alí Chumacero Alí Chumacero Lora (9 July 1918 – 22 October 2010) was a Mexican poet, translator, literary critic and editor. He was a member of the Mexican Academy of Language. Biography Alí Chumacero Lora was born on July 9, 1918, in Acaponeta, state ...

Salvador Elizondo Salvador Elizondo Alcalde (Mexico City, December 19, 1932 - March 29, 2006) was a Mexican writer of the 60s Generation of Mexican literature. Regarded as one of the creators of the most influential cult noirè, experimental, intelligent style ...

Ramón Xirau Ramón Xirau Subías (, ; 20 January 1924 – 26 July 2017) was a Spanish-born Mexican poet, philosopher and literary critic.
...

, Juan Goytisolo,

Camilo José Cela Camilo José Cela y Trulock, 1st Marquess of Iria Flavia (; 11 May 1916 – 17 January 2002) was a Spanish novelist, poet, story writer and essayist associated with the Generation of '36 movement. He was awarded the 1989 Nobel Prize in Literat ...

Luis Rosales Luis Rosales Camacho (31 May 1910 – 24 October 1992) was a Spanish poet and essay writer member of the Generation of '36. He was born in Granada (Spain). He became a member of the Hispanic Society of America and the Royal Spanish Academ ...

María Zambrano María Zambrano Alarcón (22 April 1904 – 6 February 1991) was a Spanish essayist and philosopher associated with the Generation of '36 movement. Her extensive work between the civic engagement and the poetic reflection started to be r ...

Miguel Delibes Miguel Delibes Setién MML (; 17 October 1920 – 12 March 2010) was a Spanish novelist, journalist and newspaper editor associated with the Generation of '36 movement. From 1975 until his death, he was a member of the Royal Spanish Academy, w ...

Ricardo Piglia Ricardo Piglia (November 24, 1941 in Adrogué, Argentina – January 6, 2017 in Buenos Aires) was an Argentine author, critic, and scholar best known for introducing hard-boiled fiction to the Argentine public. Biography Born in Adrogué, Pigli ...

, Gonzalo Rojas,

Mario Vargas Llosa Jorge Mario Pedro Vargas Llosa, 1st Marquess of Vargas Llosa (born 28 March 1936), more commonly known as Mario Vargas Llosa (, ), is a Peruvian novelist, journalist, essayist and former politician, who also holds Spanish citizenship. Vargas Ll ...

Juan Gelman Juan Gelman (3 May 1930 – 14 January 2014) was an Argentine poet. He published more than twenty books of poetry between 1956 and his death in early 2014. He was a naturalized citizen of Mexico, country where he arrived as a political exile of th ...

Nicanor Parra Nicanor Segundo Parra Sandoval (5 September 1914 – 23 January 2018) was a Chilean poet and physicist. He was considered one of the most influential Chilean poets of the Spanish language in the 20th century, often compared with Pablo Neruda. P ...

Álvaro Mutis Álvaro Mutis Jaramillo (August 25, 1923 – September 22, 2013) was a Colombian poet, novelist, and essayist. His best-known work is the novel sequence '' The Adventures and Misadventures of Maqroll'', which revolves around the character ...

Alejo Carpentier Alejo Carpentier y Valmont (, ; December 26, 1904 – April 24, 1980) was a Cuban novelist, essayist, and musicologist who greatly influenced Latin American literature during its famous "boom" period. Born in Lausanne, Switzerland, of French an ...

Sergio Pitol Sergio Pitol Deméneghi (18 March 1933 – 12 April 2018) was a Mexican writer, translator and diplomat. In 2005, he received the Cervantes Prize, the most prestigious literary award in the Spanish-speaking world. Early life Born in Puebla, Me ...

Elena Garro Elena Garro (December 11, 1916 – August 22, 1998) was a Mexican screenwriter, journalist, dramaturg, short story writer, and novelist. She has been described as the initiator of the Magical Realism movement, though she rejected this affiliation. ...

Rosario Castellanos Rosario Castellanos Figueroa (; 25 May 1925 – 7 August 1974) was a Mexican poet and author. She was one of Mexico's most important literary voices in the last century. Throughout her life, she wrote eloquently about issues of cultural and gend ...

Elena Poniatowska Hélène Elizabeth Louise Amélie Paula Dolores Poniatowska Amor (born May 19, 1932), known professionally as Elena Poniatowska () is a French-born Mexican journalist and author, specializing in works on social and political issues focused on th ...

, and

Fernando del Paso Fernando del Paso Morante (April 1, 1935 – November 14, 2018) was a Mexican novelist, essayist and poet. Biography Del Paso was born in Mexico City and took two years in economics at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM). He ...

. 1929 First publication of the journal ''Economía'', sponsored by the Asociación de Banqueros and directed by Miguel Palacios Macedo during its first year, and by Daniel Cosío Villegas during its second year. The School of Economic Studies (forerunner of the Escuela Nacional de Economía) is established at the Department of Law of the

Universidad Nacional de México The National Autonomous University of Mexico ( es, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, UNAM) is a public research university in Mexico. It is consistently ranked as one of the best universities in Latin America, where it's also the bigges ...

. 1931 Cosío Villegas proposes the Aguilar and Espasa-Calpe publishing houses to issue works in economics. He presents them a list of 50 well-classified titles, which they both refuse, the latter largely due to the disapproval of

José Ortega y Gasset José Ortega y Gasset (; 9 May 1883 – 18 October 1955) was a Spanish philosopher and essayist. He worked during the first half of the 20th century, while Spain oscillated between monarchy, republicanism, and dictatorship. His philosoph ...

. 1934 In April, publication of the first issue of ''El Trimestre Económico'', an academic journal jointly directed by Cosío Villegas and Eduardo Villaseñor with the aim of providing translations and original articles on the subject. It is sponsored by Alberto Mizrachi. On September 3, a trust is registered in the name of Fondo de Cultura Económica at the Banco Nacional Hipotecario Urbano y de Obras Públicas with 22,000 pesos (5,000 from the Secretaría de Hacienda; 10,000 from the Banco de México; 4,000 from the Banco Nacional Hipotecario Urbano y de Obras Públicas; 2,000 from the Banco Nacional de Crédito Agrícola y Ganadero; and 1,000 from the Banco Nacional de México), with the sole purpose of publishing “the works of Mexican and foreign economists and to enter into agreements with publishers and booksellers to purchase and sell works on relevant economic issues.” A governing board is established, and Manuel Gómez Morin,

Gonzalo Robles Gonzalo Eduardo Robles García (Santiago, April 22, 1952), is a Chilean film, theater and television actor and comedian. Biography Robles studied at Colegio San Ignacio. Later he started a career in Civil Construction at the Pontificia Unive ...

, Adolfo Prieto, Daniel Cosío Villegas, Eduardo Villasenor, and Emigdio Martinez Adame are its first members. A small office in 32 Madero Street, downtown Mexico City, precisely at the Banco Nacional Hipotecario Urbano y de Obras Públicas, serves as its headquarters. José C. Vazquez, editor and typographer, starts working at the publishing house. 1935 First volumes published: ''Silver Dollars'', by William P. Shea and Harold J. Laski’s ''Karl Marx'', two translations made by the renowned writers

Salvador Novo Salvador Novo López (30 July 1904 – 13 January 1974) was a Mexican writer, poet, playwright, translator, television presenter, entrepreneur, and the official chronicler of Mexico City. As a noted intellectual, he influenced popular percept ...

and Antonio Castro Leal, respectively. FCE's logo, designed by Francisco Díaz de León (usually attributed to José Moreno Villa), is printed on the covers of both volumes. Gómez Morin and Prieto are replaced on the governing board by

Jesus Silva Herzog Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...

and Enrique Sarro. 1937

is officially appointed first CEO. 1938 Foundation of the

Casa de España Casa de España is the headquarters of a private social organization whose members are those of Spanish descent in San Juan, Puerto Rico on Avenida de La Constitución in Old San Juan. History The building was designed in a Moorish Revival styl ...

en México, latter known as Colegio de México. Both FCE and Casa de España start a productive partnership of joint publications (now their offices are neighboring buildings in Mexico City). 1939 First history books published by FCE. Several refugees from the Spanish Republican exile join FCE's Technical Department as consultants, editors, translators, and trainers, a cooperation which lasted for generations and included

José Gaos José Gaos (26 December 1900, Gijón, Spain – 10 June 1969, Mexico City) was a Spanish philosopher who obtained political asylum in Mexico during the Spanish Civil War and became one of the most important Mexican philosophers of the 20th cen ...

, Ramón Iglesia, José Medina Echavarría, Eugenio Ímaz, Manuel Pedroso, Javier Márquez, Sindulfo de la Fuente, Luis Alaminos, Vicente Herrero, Joaquín Díez-Canedo, and Francisco Giner. In August Begins the publication of ''Noticiero Bibliográfico''. 1940 FCE moves to 63 Pánuco Street, an office shared with Casa de España. The Tezontle collection is launched. 1941 The first ''Catálogo General'' is published. 1942 The Philosophy collection is launched, at first advised by José Gaos, Eugenio Ímaz, and Eduardo García Maynes. Its first volume is Werner Wilhelm Jaeger’s ''Paideia: los ideales de la cultura griega''. Joaquín Díez-Canedo joins FCE's Technical Department. The Anthropology collection is launched under the direction of Alfonso Caso and Daniel Rubin de la Borbolla. The first ''Catálogo General'' is published. 1944 In February, the Banco de México is appointed FCE's trustee. 1944 The first volumes of the Tierra Firme collection are published. 1945 Foundation of the Buenos Aires branch, directed by

Arnaldo Orfila Reynal Arnaldo Orfila Reynal (9 July 1897 – 13 January 1998) was an Argentine-Mexican publisher. Orfila Reynal was director of the Fondo de Cultura Económica (Economic Culture Fund) and its subsidiary in Argentina. In 1965 he founded the publishing ...

. The second ''Catálogo general'' is published. 1946 At the request of Cosío Villegas,

Pedro Henríquez Ureña Pedro Henríquez Ureña (June 29, 1884 – May 11, 1946) was a Dominican essayist, philosopher, humanist, philologist and literary critic. Biography Early works Pedro Henríquez Ureña was born in Santo Domingo, the third of four siblings. He ...

proposes a plan to create the Biblioteca Americana collection.

Antonio Alatorre Antonio Alatorre Vergara (July 25, 1922 – October 21, 2010) was a Mexican writer, philologist and translator, famous due to his influential academic essays about Spanish literature, and because of his book ''Los 1001 años de la lengua espa� ...

and

, two important authors, join the Technical Department. 1947 Translated by Adrian Recinos, the ''Popol Vuh'' is the first volume of Biblioteca Americana, a collection created by Pedro Henriquez Ureña. The volume is published in his memory. 1948 Cosío Villegas leaves the direction of FCE and Orfila Reynal takes office, at first on an interim basis. The Breviarios collection is launched and ''Noticiero Bibliográfico'' begins its second series. 1950 Directed by Raimundo Lida, the Lengua y Estudios Literarios collection is launched. 1951 - 1957 The complete works of Sor

Juana Inés de la Cruz ''Doña'' Inés de Asbaje y Ramírez de Santillana, better known as Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz (12 November 1648 – 17 April 1695) was a Mexican writer, philosopher, composer and poet of the Baroque period, and Hieronymite nun. Her contribut ...

published for the first time, edited by Alfonso Méndez Plancarte. 1952 With

’s ''Obra poética'' FCE launches the Letras Mexicanas collection, focused on the dissemination of Mexican literatura. 1954 FCE's second branch in Santiago de Chile inaugurated. Upon reaching its 20th anniversary, FCE moves to its own building, at 975 Av. Universidad, at the corner of Parroquia, in Mexico City. On September 10, President

Adolfo Ruiz Cortines Adolfo Tomás Ruiz Cortines (; 30 December 1889 – 3 December 1973) was a Mexican politician who served as President of Mexico from 1952 to 1958, after winning the disputed 1952 elections as the candidate of the ruling Institutional Revolut ...

inaugurates the new headquarters. First issue of '' La Gaceta del Fondo de Cultura Económica''. 1955 Publication of Alfonso Reyes's ''Obras completas'' begins. First issue of the journal ''Diánoia'', directed by Eduardo Nicol. First edition of

’s ''Pedro Páramo''. 1956 Vida y Pensamiento de México collection launched with Fernando Benítez’s ''Ki: El drama de un pueblo y una planta'', and Mauricio Magdaleno’s ''Las palabras perdidas''. 1958 First volume of

Mariano Azuela Mariano Azuela González (January 1, 1873 – March 1, 1952) was a Mexican author and physician, best known for his fictional stories of the Mexican Revolution of 1910. He wrote novels, works for theatre and literary criticism. He is the fi ...

’s ''Obras Completas''. First edition of

’s novel ''La región más transparente''. 1959 FCE publishes the first edition of

’s classic ''El laberinto de la soledad.'' The Colección Popular is born with the reissue of

’s ''El llano en llamas,'' first published in Letras Mexicanas collection in 1953. 1961 Third international branch opening in Lima, Peru. 1962 With the experience obtained after years in the Technical Department, Joaquín Díez-Canedo leaves the FCE and founds the

Joaquín Mortiz Joaquín or Joaquin is a male given name, the Spanish version of Joachim. Given name * Joaquín (footballer, born 1956), Spanish football midfielder * Joaquín (footballer, born 1981), Spanish football winger * Joaquín (footballer, born 1982 ...

publishing house. 1963 Fourth branch opens in Madrid, Spain, directed by Javier Pradera.

Rodolfo Usigli Rodolfo Usigli (November 17, 1905 – June 18, 1979) was a Mexican playwright, essayist and diplomat. He has been called "the father of Mexican theater" and "playwright of the Mexican Revolution." In recognition of his work to articulate a nati ...

’s ''Teatro completo'' starts publication. 1965 In November, Arnaldo Orfila Reynal leaves the direction of the FCE following a controversy promoted by the government of President Díaz Ordaz for the publication of works such as

Oscar Lewis Oscar Lewis, born Lefkowitz (December 25, 1914 – December 16, 1970) was an American anthropologist. He is best known for his vivid depictions of the lives of slum dwellers and his argument that a cross-generational culture of poverty transcen ...

’s ''Los hijos de Sánchez,'' and Charles Wright Mills’s ''Escucha Yanqui''. Salvador Azuela is appointed CEO. Orfila founds

Siglo XXI Editores ''Siglo XXI Editores'' ("21st Century") is an Ibero-American Ibero-America ( es, Iberoamérica, pt, Ibero-América) or Iberian America is a region in the Americas comprising countries or territories where Spanish or Portuguese are predominant l ...

. 1970 Salvador Azuela leaves the direction in December and Antonio Carrillo Flores is appointed. 1971 During the first two months, the first issue of ''La Gaceta del Fondo de Cultura Economica''’s “new series” appears, directed by Jaime García Terrés. 1972 Edited by

, a new ''Catálogo general'' is published. A new bookstore opens in Mexico City. Opening of the new representative office in Puerto Rico. Carrillo Flores leaves the management and Francisco Javier Alejo is appointed in October. 1974 A new branch opens in Caracas, Venezuela. Another bookstore opens in Greater Mexico City and four more within the country. Guillermo Ramirez Hernandez is appointed deputy director in December. 1975 A new branch opens in Bogota, Colombia, with the goal of importing works published by FCE and act as a marketer. The journal ''El Trimestre Político'' is launched but releases only five issues. 1976 Alejo and Ramirez leave direction; José Luis Martinez is appointed CEO in December. 1982 Jaime García Terrés replaces José Luis Martinez in the management. Octavio Paz's important essay ''Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz o las trampas de la fe'' is published. 1983 The Lecturas Mexicanas collection is launched in a combined effort between FCE and the Secretaría de Educación Pública. 1984 Celebrating its 50th anniversary, FCE publishes ''Libro conmemorativo del primer medio siglo''. 1986 The La Ciencia desde México collection is launched (in 1997 it would change its name to La Ciencia para Todos). 1988

Enrique González Pedrero Enrique González Pedrero (7 April 1930 – 6 September 2021) was a Mexican politician, diplomat, and writer. After a long-time militancy in the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI), he joined the Party of the Democratic Revolution (PRD) in 1 ...

is appointed CEO. 1990 The former Mexican president

Miguel de la Madrid Miguel de la Madrid Hurtado (; 12 December 1934 – 1 April 2012) was a Mexican politician affiliated with the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) who served as the 59th president of Mexico from 1982 to 1988. Inheriting a severe economic an ...

replaces González Pedrero as CEO. FCE's US branch in San Diego, California, begins operations. 1991 New branch in São Paulo, Brazil. A la Orilla del Viento, a new collection focused on children's literature, publishes its first volume: Pascuala Corona’s ''El pozo de los ratones y otros cuentos al calor del fogón''. 1992 Located in the Carretera Picacho-Ajusco and designed by architect

Teodoro González de León Teodoro González de León (May 29, 1926 – September 16, 2016) was a Mexican architect. Biography González de León studied at the Escuela Nacional de Arquitectura of the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM) from 1942 to 19 ...

, FCE's new headquarters are inaugurated. 1993 Launch of Octavio Paz's ''Obras completas'' (Nobel Prize for Literature in 1990), in 15 volumes. 1994 Commemorating its 60th anniversary, FCE publishes its third ''Catálogo histórico'' and Víctor Díaz Arciniegas's ''Historia de la casa. Fondo de Cultura Económica (1934-1994).'' 1995 To meet the needs of Central America and the Caribbean markets, FCE opens its ninth branch in Guatemala. 2000 Gonzalo Celorio replaces Miguel de la Madrid as CEO in December. A new bookstore opens inside the premises of the Instituto Politécnico Nacional. In July, the Daniel Cosío Villegas bookstore reopens after renovation. 2002 Consuelo Sáizar Guerrero is appointed new CEO. ''La Gaceta'' is now available online. 2003 Two new collections created: Obras Reunidas, which releases

’s volume I, and Libros sobre Libros, with books for publishing professionals. The Ricardo Pozas bookstore opens in Querétaro, the Efraín Huerta bookstore opens in León and the Luis González y González bookstore opens in Morelia; in Greater Mexico City, FCE opens the Trinidad Martínez Tarragó bookstore at the Centro de Investigación y Docencia Económicas (CIDE). 2004 FCE commemorates its 70th anniversary by creating the Colección Conmemorativa, a selection of some of its classic titles. FCE's most emblematic collections are redesigned and Juan Pablo Rulfo redraws the publishing house's logo. 2005 In October, with the fourth reprint of its third edition inside the Colección Popular collection of Octavio Paz's ''El laberinto de la soledad, Posdata y Vuelta a El laberinto de la soledad'', FCE prints the one hundred millionth copy since its founding. 2006 The Centro Cultural Bella Época in Mexico City is opened, which houses the Rosario Castellanos bookstore, the Luis Cardoza y Aragón gallery and the Lido cinema. 2007 First title of the Poesía collection is Alí Chumacero's, ''Palabras en reposo''. The collection is created to draw attention to the genre. 2008 A new building to house FCE's branch in Colombia is inaugurated: the Centro Cultural Gabriel García Márquez on the historic downtown of Bogotá. The building is the last work of Colombian architect

Rogelio Salmona Rogelio Salmona (April 28, 1929 – October 3, 2007) was a French Colombian architect. He was noted for his extensive use of red brick in his buildings and for using natural shapes like spirals, radial geometry and curves in his designs. Duri ...

. FCE's back catalog begins its digitalization process. 2009 Joaquín Díez-Canedo Flores is appointed new CEO in March. On the occasion of FCE's 75th anniversary the Congreso Internacional del Mundo del Libro is held. The fourth edition of José Emilio Pacheco’s ''Tarde o temprano (Poemas 1958-2009)'' inside the Poesía collection is published. 2010 During the bicentennial of independence and the centennial of the Mexican Revolution, FCE publishes

Martín Luis Guzmán Martín Luis Guzmán Franco (October 6, 1887 – December 22, 1976) was a Mexican novelist and journalist. Along with Mariano Azuela and Nellie Campobello, he is considered a pioneer of the revolutionary novel, a genre inspired by the experiences ...

’s ''Obras completas,'' and all seven volumes of ''Historia crítica de las modernizaciones de México'', a joint publication with CIDE, as well as Alan Knight’s ''La Revolución Mexicana''. First Feria del Libro Independiente held at the Rosario Castellanos bookstore. In December, FCE begins selling e-books in ePub format. The Edmundo O’Gorman bookstore opens in the premises of the Archivo General de la Nación. 2011 Publication of

’s ''Poesía reunida,'' and of a facsimile edition of the 17 classics published by

José Vasconcelos José Vasconcelos Calderón (28 February 1882 – 30 June 1959), called the "cultural " of the Mexican Revolution, was an important Mexican writer, philosopher, and politician. He is one of the most influential and controversial personalities ...

in the 1920s. Directed by Claudio Lomnitiz and Fernando Escalante Gonzalbo, the new Umbrales collection issues its first title. The e-book catalog breaks the 100 titles mark. An app based on the ''Animalario universal del professor Revillod'' is released. In February, the

José María Luis Mora José María Luis Mora Lamadrid (12 October 1794, Chamacuero, Guanajuato – 14 July 1850, Paris, France) was a priest, lawyer, historian, politician and liberal ideologist. Considered one of the first supporters of liberalism in Mexico, he fou ...

bookstore opens in Mixcoac, and in November, the Miguel de la Madrid bookstore opens at Colima’s Casa de Cultura. 2012 FCE develops an app for Paloma Valdivia’s children’s book ''Es así''. 2013 In January José Carreño Carlón is appointed CEO. The José Revueltas bookstore opens in Durango. ''La Gaceta'' is now available for iPad. 2014 FCE celebrates its 80th anniversary with the Festival el Libro y sus Lectores, which held the Feria del Libro Latinoamericano; a symposium entitled “Los libros que hacen crecer a los lectores”; the International Seminar “El libro electrónico y sus lectores”; the A la Orilla del Viento Carnival and the Encuentro de BookTubers. The Breviarios collection is relaunched and the newly created Comunicación collection releases its first titles. New editions of Octavio Paz's ''Obras completas,''

Efraín Huerta Efraín Huerta (June 18, 1914 – February 3, 1982) was a Mexican poet and journalist. Born and raised in the state of Guanajuato, he moved to Mexico City initially to start a career in art. Unable to enter the Academy of San Carlos, he attend ...

’s ''Poesía completa,'' and

José Revueltas José Revueltas Sánchez (November 20, 1914 in Santiago Papasquiaro, Durango – April 14, 1976 in Mexico City) was a Mexican writer, essayist, and political activist. He was part of an important artistic family that included his siblings Silve ...

’s ''Errores'' published within the celebrations for the centenary of the three Mexican writers. Publication of

Thomas Piketty Thomas Piketty (; born 7 May 1971) is a French economist who is Professor of Economics at the School for Advanced Studies in the Social Sciences, Associate Chair at the Paris School of Economics and Centennial Professor of Economics in the I ...

’s ''El capital en el siglo XXI''. FCE has now available for sale a thousand different e-books and the iOS and Android app ''Archivo abierto: ochenta años del FCE'' is released. The Guillermo Tovar de Teresa bookstore opens in Mexico City and the José Emilio Pacheco bookstore is inaugurated in Tuxtla Gutiérrez, inside the Centro Cultural Universitario Balún Canán. The Ricardo Pozas bookstore in Querétaro closes its doors to be replaced in 2016 by a new store named after Hugo Gutiérrez Vega, result of a partnership between FCE and the State’s Universidad Autónoma. 2015 The tenth branch, the Centro Cultural Carlos Fuentes in Quito, Ecuador, is inaugurated, after twenty years without any new foreign subsidiaries. In February, in collaboration with the Government of the State of Michoacán and the Municipal Government of Apatzingán, a new bookstore opens within the Centro Cultural of Apatzingán. 2018

Paco Ignacio Taibo II Paco Ignacio Taibo II (born Francisco Ignacio Taibo Mahojo; on January 11, 1949), also known as Paco Taibo II or informally as PIT is a Spanish-Mexican writer, novelist and political activist based in Mexico City. He is most widely known as the ...

is appointed CEO.

CEOs

#Todas las longitudes se miden en píxeles ImageSize = width:350 height:550 #Tamaño de la imagen: ancho, alto PlotArea = width:300 height:530 left:50 bottom:10 #Tamaño de la gráfica en sí dentro de la imagen: ancho, alto, margen izquierdo, margen derecho DateFormat = yyyy #Formato de fechas= y-cifra de año, m-cifra de mes, d-cifra de día. Period = from:1934 till:2020 #Período representado: desde, hasta TimeAxis = orientation:vertical #Orientación del eje de tiempos: horizontal o vertical ScaleMajor = unit:year increment:5 start:1934 #Escala # No se da cuenta de cuándo chocan dos frases, así que hay # que moverlas a mano con la variable $dx Define $dx = 20 # shift text to left side of bar PlotData= #barra, color, ancho, ?, alineamiento, tamaño de fuente (XS,S,M,L,XL) bar:Líderes color:red width:30 mark:(line,white) align:left fontsize:M #desde hasta desplazamiento($dx, píxeles) texto y enlace from:start till:1948 shift:($dx,1) text:

from:1948 till:1965 shift:($dx,1) text:

from:1965 till:1970 shift:($dx,1) text: Salvador Azuela from:1970 till:1972 shift:($dx,1) text:

Antonio Carrillo Flores Antonio Carrillo Flores (June 23, 1909 – March 20, 1986) was a Mexican statesman, born in Mexico City. He was the second son of composer Julián Carrillo Trujillo, and older brother of Nabor Carrillo, rector of the National University and ...

from:1972 till:1974 shift:($dx,1) text: Francisco Javier Alejo from:1974 till:1976 shift:($dx,1) text: Guillermo Ramírez Hernández from:1976 till:1982 shift:($dx,1) text:

José Luis Martínez Rodríguez José Luis Martínez Rodríguez (1918 in Atoyac, Jalisco) was a Mexican academic, diplomat, essayist, historian, bibliographer and editor. He was the director of the Fondo de Cultura Económica from 1977 to 1982 and professor of literature with th ...

from:1982 till:1988 shift:($dx,1) text: Jaime García Terrés from:1988 till:1990 shift:($dx,1) text:

from:1990 till:2000 shift:($dx,1) text:

Miguel de la Madrid Hurtado Miguel de la Madrid Hurtado (; 12 December 1934 – 1 April 2012) was a Mexican politician affiliated with the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) who served as the 59th president of Mexico from 1982 to 1988. Inheriting a severe economic an ...

from:2000 till:2002 shift:($dx,1) text: Gonzalo Celorio from:2002 till:2009 shift:($dx,1) text: Consuelo Sáizar Guerrero from:2009 till:2013 shift:($dx,1) text: Joaquín Díez-Canedo Flores from:2013 till:2018 shift:($dx,1) text: José Carreño Carlón from:2018 till:2020 shift:($dx,1) text:

Releases

Collections

FCE's backlist encompasses more than ten thousand titles, among which five thousand remain available (i.e., reprinted or in stock). Its catalogue is organized in over 100 collections.

Periodicals

Fondo de Cultura Económica publishes three periodicals: * '' El Trimestre Económico.'' Forerunner of FCE itself, this journal began by issuing translations of articles published in major journals in English and gradually began including original research by scholars and government officials from Mexico and Latin America. * '' La Gaceta''. Founded by Arnaldo Orfila Reynal on FCE's 20th anniversary, it is a monthly magazine with excerpts, reviews, articles, and poems. With Jaime García Terrés as its chief editor it took an outstanding literary direction and achieved international presence. In 1987, it received the Mexican Premio Nacional de Periodismo. Today it can be read online (as PDF) and through the iOS and Android apps. * ''Diánoia''. It is a peer-reviewed philosophy journal jointly published by FCE and the Instituto de Investigaciones Filosóficas, UNAM, since 1955. Its main goal is to promote, coordinate and disseminate original and high-level philosophical production in Spanish. Until 2001, it was a yearly periodical and has been biannual since.

Electronic publishing

FCE has four types of electronic publications: * E-books in ePub and other formats, with up to 1,300 available titles in major e-stores such as Amazon, iBooks, GooglePlay, Barnes & Noble, Snowfall, Todoebook, and its own web site. * Interactive Books, both apps and ePub files; for example, Paloma Valdivia's ''Es así.'' * iOS and Android apps for tablets; some of them are: ''Animalario universal del professor Revillod, Archivo abierto: 80 años del FCE, La Gaceta,'' and a version of José Moreno de Alba’s ''Minucias del lenguaje.'' * Web sites; this includes a version of Moreno de Alba's ''Minucias del lenguaje'', ''La Gaceta,'' and ''El Trimestre Económico'' under the Open Journals Systems standard (forthcoming).

FCE’s Headquarters

Head Office

On September 4, 1992, Miguel de la Madrid Hurtado, then CEO, inaugurated the new FCE's facilities, located in 227 Picacho-Ajusco Highway, in Mexico City. Surrounded by gardens, the facility also houses the Unidad Cultural Jesús Silva Herzog, the Gonzalo Robles Library, which preserves FCE's growing collection, and the Alfonso Reyes bookstore.

Foreign branches

In addition to its central office in Mexico, FCE has subsidiaries in (year of foundation in brackets): *

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...

(

, 1945) *

Santiago Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile, is the capital and largest city of Chile as well as one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is the center of Chile's most densely populated region, the Santiago Metropolitan Region, whose ...

(

, 1954) *

Lima Lima ( ; ), originally founded as Ciudad de Los Reyes (City of The Kings) is the capital and the largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón River, Chillón, Rímac River, Rímac and Lurín Rivers, in the desert zone of t ...

(

, 1961) *

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...

(Spain, 1963) *

Bogotá Bogotá (, also , , ), officially Bogotá, Distrito Capital, abbreviated Bogotá, D.C., and formerly known as Santa Fe de Bogotá (; ) during the Spanish period and between 1991 and 2000, is the capital city of Colombia, and one of the larges ...

(

, 1975) *

San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the List of United States cities by population, eigh ...

(United States, 1990) FCE USA *

Guatemala City Guatemala City ( es, Ciudad de Guatemala), known locally as Guatemala or Guate, is the capital and largest city of Guatemala, and the most populous urban area in Central America. The city is located in the south-central part of the country, ne ...

(

and

Central America Central America ( es, América Central or ) is a subregion of the Americas. Its boundaries are defined as bordering the United States to the north, Colombia to the south, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. ...

, 1995) *

Quito Quito (; qu, Kitu), formally San Francisco de Quito, is the capital and largest city of Ecuador, with an estimated population of 2.8 million in its urban area. It is also the capital of the province of Pichincha. Quito is located in a valley o ...

(

, 2015)

Bookstores

FCE runs 37 bookstores, 27 in Mexico and 10 all over the Spanish-speaking world. It sells and distributes its own catalog and also books from other publishers.

References and sources

Bibliography

** Aboites, Luis; Loyo, Engracia (2010). “La construcción del nuevo Estado, 1920-1945”. In Erik Velásquez García ''et al''. ''Nueva historia general de México''. Mexico: El Colegio de México. pp. 595–652. . ** Ángel Mobarak, Gustavo de, and Graciela Márquez (eds.), ''Respuestas propias. 80 años de'' El Trimestre, Mexico: FCE, 2014, ** Díaz Arciniega, Víctor, ''Historia de la casa. Fondo de Cultura Económica (1934-1994)'', Mexico: FCE, 1994. ** Pacheco, Cristina, ''En el primer medio siglo del Fondo de Cultura Económica. Testimonios y conversaciones'', Mexico: FCE, 1984. ** Various authors, ''Fondo de Cultura Económica. Memoria editorial 1990-2000'', Mexico: FCE, 2000. ** Various authors, ''Catálogo histórico 1934-2009'', Mexico: FCE, 2009. ** Garone Gravier, Marina, ''Historia en cubierta. El Fondo de Cultura Económica a través de sus portadas (1934-2009)'', Mexico: FCE, 2011. {{DEFAULTSORT:Fondo De Cultura Economica Book publishing companies of Mexico Publishing companies established in 1934 Mexican companies established in 1934