UNAM-Cuba Forum Honors Diplomat Gilberto Bosques’ Legacy

In collaboration with the Mexican embassy in Cuba, UNAM’s Havana campus hosted the “II Gilberto Bosques Saldívar Forum” to honor the legacy of the Mexican diplomat who saved the lives of more than one hundred thousand people during World War II.

These included Spanish Republicans, German opponents of Hitler, Italian anti-fascists, and Jews from across Europe, all of whom he helped escape the war by providing them with safe-conduct passes.

At the forum, academics from Mexico and Cuba presented their latest research on Bosques. Mexican Ambassador to Chile, Laura Moreno Rodríguez, and Gregorio Joaquín Lozano Trejo, Director of the Diplomatic Archives at Mexico’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, co-authored the book From Fulgencio Batista to the Cuban Revolution: Diplomacy in the Times of Gilberto Bosques.

“It is an honor for us, as university representatives, to support such a high-level academic forum dedicated to one of the most important diplomats in our history,” said Sandra Lorenzano, Director of UNAM-Cuba.

Participants also discussed Bosques’ work as Ambassador to Cuba, a role he held from 1953 to 1964, during which he provided protection to those who opposed Fulgencio Batista’s regime.