From UNAM to the University of Alicante. And, proudly, from Nicolás Romero to Spain

As a proud undergraduate student pursuing the degree in Political Sciences and Public Administration in the Faculty of Political and Social Sciences (FCPyS) at UNAM, I am driven by a deep sense of social responsibility, a fighting conviction to make change happen from the root up—that is, to change the structure of public issues—and, essentially, the great love I have for my people, my Mexican community. This pride is not limited to my undergraduate education; it is born from my history, from my everyday life as a Mexican, as someone who was born in the State of Mexico and, more specifically, in Nicolás Romero, as someone who sees, feels and lives the realities that citizens suffer.

Luis Fernando Flores Diosdado

These sources of inspiration, as well as the calling in politics I have had since I was a child, have guided my path to the University of Alicante in Spain, where I have researched, studied, recovered and adjusted good practices in urban development so that they may be of use in the Mexican context.

The ship sailed when I began my high school education in the College of Sciences and Humanities (CCH) Azcapotzalco, when my journey from the State of Mexico to Mexico City turned into a real-life odyssey. In those waves of city life, amidst custers, buses, and long walks, I witnessed multiple scenes that reflected the social inequality that inhabits our city.

One of the scenes that marked me for life happened in Colonia Doctores, when in this neighborhood’s streets I saw an indigenous mother sitting on the floor, selling candies, just inches away from a restaurant that only those with high purchasing power could attend. The image left me frozen: it proved that, in Mexico, completely different realities coexist. This awoke in me the need to understand what lies behind this structural inequality.

Besides, every day I saw millions of persons who, like me, had to travel for hours from the municipalities in the State of Mexico to Mexico City to get to work or study. Between tired faces and squeezed bodies, I learned that living in the outskirts was an experience marked by structural deficiencies: lack of public spaces, water scarcity, poor waste management, poor transportation, at-risk settlements, pollution, high housing costs, and a lack of local development. All of this within the logic of a centralized metropoli, where the capital holds all the opportunities and the periphery is reduced to dorm-municipalities, forcing millions to forsake their quality of life and adapt to a clock-like and stressful routine.

But it was only until I enrolled in the undergraduate degree at the FCPyS that I had my first formal introduction into research. I remember the first time I heard, in a colloquium about the city, the term gentrification. The concept immediately captured my attention because of everything it contained, and, when I dived into it, I realized that public administration has an important part to play in urban development: it plans, executes, and regulates territorial planning through land use values, urban development programs, and zoning policies—that is, urban development is not a spontaneous phenomenon, but the result of political and administrative decisions.

Luis Fernando Flores Diosdado

Based on this understanding, I published my first academic article: “La implacable trascendencia sistémica de la Colonia Doctores. Gentrificación urbana 1994-2015. Una perspectiva desde el análisis de gestión del gobierno abierto” (the relentless systemic transcendence of Colonia Doctores. Urban gentrification 1994-2015. A perspective from the Open Government Management analysis, Flores Diosdado, 2024b). There I analyzed how urban planning, when lacking care for the public, forces residents to move to the periphery for affordability reasons, even when their workplaces are in central areas, thereby demonstrating that government decisions, without citizen collaboration, far from contributing to social development, actually harm it.

WHERE AM I FROM AND WHERE AM I GOING?
After a series of doubts ranging from my personal life to my professional vocation, I decided my inspiration could not stop there, and began to research the topic further to outline strategies that would weigh what was desirable and what was possible, thus allowing me to propose comprehensive solutions rather than limiting myself solely to identifying the problem. That is how I began to envision a new horizon: nourishing my thesis work with an international experience that could provide insight into other urban realities.

In early 2024, soon after publishing that first article, I discovered, through my school’s Mobility Department website, the call for international research stays from the General Office of Cooperation and Internationalization (DGECI). I knew then that I had the opportunity to fulfill two of my university dreams: to broaden the academic horizons of my research and to experience an international stay that would enrich my human, personal, professional, and political experiences.

During the application process, I undertook the task of thoroughly reviewing universities and cities that would represent a significant contribution to my academic and professional training, but also that were replicable urban hubs with the potential to contribute to the case of Mexico City. So, through research and coincidences, and thanks to the recommendation of a friend, I met Dr. José Antonio Segrelles Serrano, professor at the University of Alicante and an expert in geography and land use planning. Upon learning of his work and exploring Alicante’s urban experience, I realized I was dealing with a model that combined quality of life, a territorial vision, and inclusive and sustainable planning: exactly what I needed for my research.

My arrival to Alicante and the university was a dreamy experience. I will never forget the first sight I had of the Santa Bárbara Castle and the waves of that sky-blue sea that shone upon my eyes. Alicante welcomed me with an ancient heart full of history, efficient public services, inclusive land use planning, and a friendly urban model that harmonizes its landscape with its people. But what struck me most was the warmth with which its people took me in, a fraternal atmosphere that made me feel at home under the symbolic protection of “La cara del moro” (the silhouette of a face on the cliffs of Mount Benacantil), which safeguards the noble spirit of Alacant (Alicante in Valencian). It was there that I understood that a planned city not only transforms the space but also the lives of those who live in it.

I will always be grateful to Dr. Segrelles, who generously opened the doors of the University of Alicante to me through the Interdisciplinary Group for Critical and Latin American Studies (GIECRYAL). His support was much more than academic; he shared his knowledge, his teaching vocation, and his invaluable mentorship with me throughout this experience. My stay was full of intellectual adventures, but above all, of human learning: from his invitation to participate in his economic geography classes and in academic internships in other cities in Spain, to the opportunity to publish, under his guidance, an article that meant a lot to me because of the significance of its connection with my people: “Gestión hídrica en los municipios de Nicolás Romero en el Estado de México y de Alicante en España: un estudio comparativo sobre el ciclo urbano del agua” (water management in the municipalities of Nicolás Romero in the State of Mexico and Alicante in Spain: a comparative study on the urban water cycle, Flores Diosdado, 2024a).

With Dr. José Antonio Segrelles Serrano

I also shared a lot of experiences with his students, exchanging ideas about territorial development; I learned about tools like QGIS (an open-source geographic information system), I gave presentations, and, on more than one occasion, over coffee, I engaged in profound conversations with the professor about our visions of the world and Latin America. Dr. Segrelles was undoubtedly my compass on this northern journey, and his generosity, his intellectual commitment, and, above all, his human qualities, left a permanent mark on my life.

Today I can say with humility and appreciation that one of my dreams has come true: to study abroad. There were always signs that guided me toward Spain: in songs, dances, school projects, even in politics. Therefore, with emotion and commitment, I acknowledge the great honor that UNAM, through the DGECI and my beloved Faculty of Political and Social Sciences, has conferred upon me by allowing me to represent it at the University of Alicante.

I hope that I will one day be able to repay this privilege through my thesis, so that it may become a starting point and a framework for the creation of public policies that serve citizens and that, through actions, transform realities and leave a mark on the lives of those of us who live in the peripheries, as I firmly believe that good urban planning and regulation would improve the quality of life of my people. The city is the human habitat par excellence; we just have to learn to live in it in a sustainable and inclusive way.

Finally, I urge the university community to take advantage of the opportunities that UNAM offers us, because dreams, when held with conviction and love, become life projects. And never forget that being a Mexican, and, moreover, a university student, is a great honor that transcends borders, because “Through my race shall the spirit speak.” From UNAM to the University of Alicante, and proudly, from Nicolás Romero to Spain.

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