FCE's U.S. branch in San Diego closed due to low sales.

The Baja California Journey

La Jornada Newspaper, Sunday, August 17, 2025, p. 5

Tijuana, BC., The U.S. branch of Fondo de Cultura Económica (FCE) in San Diego, California, has closed its doors by decision of the Mexican federal government in response to the drastic decline in physical book sales in that country in recent years.

This was clarified by Ezra Alcázar, International Relations Manager for the publishing house, following the uproar generated on social media by images of boxes containing hundreds of copies placed in the parking lot of the San Diego County Sheriff's Department, where the public could freely take them.

The FCE facilities in that city, located on Verus Street, have operated as a distribution center since 1990. Over the past six months, thousands of books have been redistributed to institutions, consulates, and civil organizations on both sides of the border, the official explained.

In this regard, the Mexican state publishing house reported yesterday in a statement that the closure of those offices "involved disposing of 90,400 copies," which "were not destroyed or abandoned, but rather donated to 27 institutions and civil associations in the United States and five in Mexico."

He detailed that 70,000 dollars were donated to the San Diego Country Library to strengthen the collection of its 33 branches, mobile libraries, and social reentry programs in prisons and detention centers.

"Of that number, 63,000 copies have already been delivered to the community," and the remaining 7,000 are "temporarily stored in a parking lot, awaiting repackaging and redistribution next week," the document states, also stating that the information circulating online "is incomplete and, at times, alarmist."

Ezra Alcázar added that the images were not from the publisher's offices, but rather from a space donated by the county to the San Diego Council on Literacy to house donations.

He explained that the decision to close was made at the end of 2024 due to the drastic decline in physical book sales in the United States in recent years.

The subsidiary, he added, operated primarily as a distributor, not a bookstore or cultural center, concentrating on administrative activities from expensively maintained offices in an increasingly expensive area.

Alcázar noted that, paradoxically, while physical sales plummeted, e-book distribution has performed excellently.

The subsidiary will maintain its presence in the United States, focusing on its digital business. FCE authorities plan to open a different space in the near future, more oriented toward cultural promotion and reading than commercial sales, similar to the model the publisher maintains in other countries such as Argentina, Chile, and Spain.

The donation process benefited multiple organizations: Mexican consulates, migrant associations, book clubs, community reading rooms, and various civil organizations working with the Spanish-speaking population in the border region.

The administration of FCE, under the direction of Paco Ignacio Taibo II, was confirmed to continue during Claudia Sheinbaum's six-year term, so it is expected that the plans to restructure the publishing house's international presence will materialize in the coming years.

From the editorial staff

La Jornada Newspaper, Sunday, August 17, 2025, p. 5

The exhibition Libertarias: Mujeres Anarquistas , presented at the National Museum of the Revolution, seeks to rescue and make visible the legacy of women who confronted political, economic, and patriarchal power in revolutionary Mexico, opening a historical window for the audience at the Media Luna Gallery.

The exhibition focuses on figures such as Juana Belén Gutiérrez de Mendoza, a pioneer of revolutionary feminism in Mexico, and Emma Goldman, an icon of international anarchism. Both articulated the struggle against capitalist exploitation and the subordination of women.

In the context of the Revolution, and alongside icons such as Ricardo Flores Magón and Emiliano Zapata, women were fundamental in the construction of the emancipatory project: “Anarchism in Mexico had a radical feminist component that questioned domination in all its forms: the State, the Church, and marriage as oppressive institutions.”

Curated by Liliana Nava Diosdado, the exhibition is structured along two axes: on the one hand, it sheds light on Mexican women associated with anarchism between the late 19th and early 20th centuries from a perspective removed from the contemporary distortions of the term "libertarian," analyzing their role as agitators, educators, and organizers; on the other, it interweaves libertarian internationalism and the mutual support networks they built around the world.

One of the most notable pieces is "Echoes of Rebellion," by Marilia Castillejos Meléndrez, who rescued woven images of key women from that movement. The exhibition is comprised of videos, photos, historical texts, and artwork that transports the audience back in time.

The exhibition can be visited until August 30 at the National Museum of the Revolution (Plaza de la República, Tabacalera, Cuauhtémoc City Hall). Free admission.