Aurelio Nuño, Mexico’s education minister, calls astronomer an “astrologer”

Astronomy is the study of the universe and its contents outside of Earth’s atmosphere. Astronomers examine the positions, motions, and properties of celestial objects.

Astronomy is a science that studies everything outside of the earth’s atmosphere, such as planets, stars, asteroids, galaxies; and the properties and relationships of those celestial bodies. Astronomers base their studies on research and observation.

On the other hand, Astrology attempts to study how those positions, motions, and properties influence people and events on Earth. In other words, Astrology is the belief that the positioning of the stars and planets affect the way events occur on earth.

Astrology involves the 12 signs of the Zodiac: Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Virgo, Libra, Scorpio, Sagittarius, Capricorn, Aquarius and Pisces; and millions of people across the world read popular news media, and turn to the page to reference  astrologers prediction as a method to predict and explain events affecting their present and future in a hope for favourable effect on them personally (which has nothing to do with science).

The Ministry of Public Education (SEP) is in charge of the implementation of the General Education Law, as well as educational, scientific, artistic, sporting and cultural functions.

Therefore, the Federal Secretary of Public Education must be an educated person, with a broad general culture and basically someone who can distinguish between science and popular belief.

However, Mexico’s Secretary of Public Education, Aurelio Nuño, referred to Mexican astronomer Julieta Fierro as an “astrologer” in the opening speech of the 2017-2018 school year in the community of San Pedro de las Anonas, San Luis Potosí.

This is not the first time Secretary Nuño commits this kind of mistake during a public event, since in November 2016, while Nuño was speaking at the 36th International Book Fair for Children and Youth, a ten year-old girl dared to correct him, saying “Do not say ‘it read’, It is said ‘to read'” (No se dice “ler” se dice “leer”), to which the Secretary of Education just answered “very well.”

What is even more disturbing is the fact that Aurelio Nuño has been mentioned by specialists and media outlets all over Mexico as one of the PRI’s possible presidential candidates.

The lack of education is probably one of the greatest problems that Mexico has as a society and as a nation, and the person who is in charge of this Secretariat should be a role model to be followed by the new generations, however, in this case the individual in charge of SEP makes mistakes that show his poor general culture and lack of leadership in the fields of knowledge and science.

TYT Newsroom with information from:

• http://www.informador.com.mx/
• www.excelsior.com.mx
• www.wikipedia.com
• www.youtube.com