Celebrating Tradition

For 200 years, the Heroic Military Academy of Mexico has given young military leaders the tools to accomplish their missions.

MEXICAN SECRETARIAT OF NATIONAL DEFENSE. Photos by the Government of Mexico

Mexico’s Heroic Military Academy is an educational institution founded in October 1823 by Gen. José Joaquín de Herrera, minister of war and Navy, who by decree ordered the creation of an Army officer training facility. Now 200 years later, this historic institution has maintained its purpose of educating and preparing cadets to effectively fulfill their missions.

The origins of the institution were derived from Spain and other European countries, where the term “cadet academy” was used. Its purpose was to gather students who had the qualifications to learn and provide meaning and direction to the Armed Forces.

The academy moved four times in its first two decades before finding its permanent home at Chapultepec Castle, Mexico City. When founded on October 11, 1823, it was at the San Carlos Fortress in Perote, Veracruz, and was considered the first military education headquarters. In 1829, it moved to the former Convent of the Bethlemitas, and in 1837, it relocated to the Convent of the Recogidas. By October 1842, it was moved to Chapultepec.

Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, the supreme commander of the armed forces and the Secretariat of National Defense (SEDENA), returned to the academy’s original location in October 2023 to celebrate its storied history at San Carlos Fortress. “Veracruz is one of those few places that preserves buildings from all times and tells stories through struggles of resistance: independence, liberalism, revolution and transformation,” said Gov. Cuitláhuac García Jiménez, according to a report in The Yucatan Times newspaper. The interventions during Mexico’s early history, the governor said, shaped the character of the institution but never broke the spirit of Mexicans. 

Over many decades, the curriculum of the academy became more advanced. Under the guidance of Brig. Diego García Conde, engineering was added in 1823, and in 1827 the technical artillery specialty was incorporated, marking the beginning of specialized training for officers. The instruction was more technical and more advanced than those taught in Mexico at the time.

During the presidential administration of Gen. Porfirio Diaz from 1884-1911, education was a catalyst for social change; therefore, courses such as English, personal defense, small arms training, attack and defense of forts, drawing as a planning tool, and report writing were included in the curriculum.

After the Mexican Revolution, academic activities resumed and a modern study program was established to increase professionalism in the military. In modern times, the academy’s level of instruction has progressed from an associate degree to a bachelor’s degree in military administration and military sciences, giving graduates the necessary tools for decision-making in leadership positions.

Starting in 2007, equality in education was promoted, provided and applied without gender distinction. As a result, the first women entered the military and now have access to equal opportunities in infantry, cavalry, artillery, combat engineering, armor and military policing. Bachelor’s degrees in military administration and public security are complemented with ethics and the theory of values training.

To improve safety conditions in Mexican society and guarantee justice and peace, the academy opened its doors to build National Guard leaders with specialized technical skills. Currently, the Heroic Military Academy is considered the institution with the most tradition and is deeply rooted in society. It houses generations of men and women leaders who have served and offer their lives for their nation, displaying loyalty and successfully fulfilling its slogan “For Mexico’s Honor.”

Secretary of National Defense Gen. Luis Cresencio Sandoval González spoke at the Veracruz ceremony about the academy’s commitment to training young people to serve their country. “To talk about the college,” he said, “is to talk about the dream of many young people, turned into reality through their training with a common goal: to give everything for the honor of Mexico.”