Mexico and the constitution of the cultural patrimony policy in museums throughout the 20th Century

Abstract

The historical, political and social role that the public policies of cultural heritage played in museums occupied in Mexico during the XX century, especially since the ‘Mexican Revolution’ of 1910, involved diverse social sectors in the creation of museological collections and also of the National Institute of Anthropology and History (Inah) and the National Institute of Fine Arts (Inba), that, in turn were responsible for the extension of the concept of cultural heritage, which implied the insertion of cultural practices and communities that were excluded from the ‘official’ patrimony. These processes have transformed Mexican cultural policy into a new paradigm for Latin American countries and have inserted Mexico and its museums into one of the world's top tourist destinations.