Mexican Academy of Sciences suspends activities due to lack of funds

The Mexican Academy of Sciences (AMC) , an institution that gathers some of the most renowned investigators for the promotion of scientific culture in Mexican society, has now suspended most of their programs due to a lack of public resources from the National Council of Science and Technology (CONACYT).

“It is with great concern that we inform you of the dire financial situation facing the Mexican Academy of Sciences . This situation has forced us to suspend all activities that had been programmed for the first quarter of 2019 ,” stated the institution through a release.

José Luis Morán, chairman of the AMC

, claimed that “ CONACYT is the main source of funding for our academic programs . Through a call for endowment funds that was usually released on December , the institution would evaluate our request and provide the necessary resources for the rest of the year as early as February .”

In 2017 and 2018

, the Academy received a yearly budget of MXN$50 million , but the National Council of Science and Technology has not yet published said call for 2019 .

“Our resources are very limited. We made the decision to temporarily suspend all our activities indefinitely. This is the first time in many years that we are left without resources,” he stressed.

The institution suspended scientific dissemination programs such as “Domingo de la ciencia” and “La ciencia en tu escuela,” as well as other international activities. “We are very active among Latin American academies and now we will not be able to collaborate during the first quarter of the year,” Morán stated.

“Since the government transition at CONACYT was off to an early start in July, we hoped that the institution would maintain the same terms as in the past administration, but this was clearly not the case. As far as we know, the call will come out in the month of March and we won’t receive government resources until the month of July . This is surely due to a lack of planning,” he commented.

The chairman of the Mexican Academy of Sciences has spoken with the new director of CONACYT, doctor María Elena Álvarez-Buylla . “Though there is a spirit of mutual collaboration, she has asked us to wait while the institution undergoes a restructuring of personnel and program policies. She has asked us to be patient, though whether and when they intend to provide the government funds we need remains unclear,” stated the director.

However, the AMC is evaluating other options to finance some of their programs. They are now looking to make an agreement with the Ministry of Science, Technology, and Innovation in Mexico City .

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