De Criollos a Mexicanos: Engineers' Identity and the Construction of Mexico

This paper describes and analyzes the relationship between engineers' identity and the construction of the Mexico from Independence to the present. It covers the main periods of political change in Mexican history to highlight how engineers' identities are (re)shaped when the relationship between the State and its population changes. It focuses on the development of engineering education institutions as sites of identity formation where engineers' identities acquire new meanings when the relationship between State, engineers and population is redefined. It concludes with a brief analysis of how engineers' identities today are coping with the challenges of globalization and privatization.