THE FOREIGN MINISTRY MOURNS THE DEATH OF CARLOS FUENTES MACÍAS

The Foreign Ministry deeply regrets the death of Carlos Fuentes Macías, novelist, playwright, essayist and diplomat, today in Mexico City, and extends its sincere condolences to his wife Silvia Lemus, his daughter Cecilia Fuentes, and his family and friends for the irreparable loss of such a prominent representative of Mexican culture.

Carlos Fuentes was a well-known member of the Mexican Foreign Service. As the son of Mexican diplomat Rafael Fuentes Boettiger, a former ambassador to the Netherlands, Panama, Portugal and Italy, from his youngest days Carlos Fuentes experienced the many activities in which Mexican diplomats are engaged abroad.

In 1950 he studied at the Institute of International Studies in Geneva, Switzerland, and in that same year he entered diplomatic circles by working as secretary to the Mexican representative on the United Nations International Law Commission, Ambassador Roberto Cordova. A year later, Fuentes became part of the Mexican delegation accredited to the International Labour Organization in Geneva.

In 1954, during his early, prolific period of literary activity, Carlos Fuentes entered the Foreign Ministry as Deputy Press Director for the 10th Interamerican Conference in Caracas, Venezuela. Two years later, he returned to the Foreign Ministry to work first with Foreign Secretary Luis Padilla Nervo and then, in 1957, as the first Director of the Cultural Relations Department, a post he held until 1958.

In 1975, Carlos Fuentes was appointed Ambassador of Mexico to France by President Luis Echeverria Alvarez, a post he held until 1977.

Carlos Fuentes was the recipient of many awards, including the 1987 Miguel de Cervantes award and the 1994 Prince of Asturias award. Due to their universal appeal, Fuentes’ works have carried the name and prestige of Mexico to every corner of the planet, exalting the wealth, complexity and deep roots of our culture and history.