The repression of anti-systemic movements in El Apando by José Revueltas

Abstract

Much has already been written about the student movement of 1968 and its impact on Mexican culture in the following years, as the subject has been the result of countless political and historical controversies over the course of the decades. In this sense, the short novel El Apando (1969) by José Revueltas is placed as part of the testimonial literature of the time, being a metaphor of the oppression to which those who were uncomfortable with the Mexican political system were condemned.

This brief reading hopes to clarify the relationship, sometimes so unconnected, between the socio-cultural reality of the country until 1968 and the repression of anti-systemic movements, both inside and outside the prison system. This is preceded by literary, philosophical and sociological research, which can be seen in the bibliography. For this reason, I think it is appropriate to review, from the study of history, a work with a relevant weight for Mexican lyrics given the diverse interpretations and reflections to which it has incited over the years.