A Mexican school principal says lessons on the government's official education platform introduce children to shamanic practices that conflict with Christian beliefs.
Rocío Martínez Ruiz, an evangelical Christian with 22 years of teaching experience, has publicly questioned the content of the free textbooks and teaching materials used by millions of students in Mexico's public schools.
Her criticism is part of a wider debate over the New Mexican School (Nueva Escuela Mexicana, NEM), the education model promoted by Mexico's Secretariat of Public Education (SEP). The model has drawn controversy across Mexican society for the changes it brings to teaching, assessment and curriculum.
Shamanic rituals in official materials
On the official New Mexican School Digital platform (Nueva Escuela Mexicana Digital), a lesson titled "Prácticas diversas para el tratamiento de malestares" (Various practices for treating ailments) includes fragments of shamanic chants attributed to María Sabina, an Indigenous healer (curandera) from the state of Oaxaca. It asks students to look up the definition of shaman and shamanism.
The lesson explains that the ceremonies included eating mushrooms considered sacred by some traditional communities. It defines a shaman as a person believed to have supernatural powers to heal, divine or invoke spirits.
Fourth-grade teaching material also includes an activity titled "Juguemos a hacer un performance" (Let's play at doing a performance). Students are invited to portray "a shaman or a magician" and perform a magic act using sounds and body movements.
The exercises have opened a debate among Christian families, because ideas such as invoking spirits, magic rituals and supernatural powers go beyond folklore and conflict directly with Christian doctrine.
Criticism and censorship online
In August 2025, Martínez Ruiz began posting analyses on social media of the education reforms promoted by Morena, Mexico's ruling leftist party. The posts sparked intense debate online.
She warns of the risks of a humanist philosophy in public education, saying that under this vision "man becomes filled with pride and pushes God aside."
Her public defense of Christian values and ethical principles has drawn wide attention online, from both supporters and critics.
"On social media they call me a religious fanatic and insult me for the analyses and comments I make in bringing these issues to light. TikTok has censored some of the videos. It is not easy to be allowed to express what is happening with education in Mexico," Martínez Ruiz told Diario Cristiano, Christian Daily International's Spanish edition.
Concerns over academic standards
One of her main criticisms centers on the influence of Paulo Freire, the Brazilian educator whose theories, grounded in Marxism and radical leftist currents, have shaped teacher training in Latin America for decades.
Martínez Ruiz also questions the NEM's focus compared with traditional academic content. She says the model gives more weight to social-emotional and community goals than to structured subjects such as mathematics, Spanish and science. In her view, those subjects require a rigorous and clearly defined progression of learning.
"Something that must be taken into account is that the NEM does not aim for children to be competent, but rather for them 'to be happy.' This model is based on feelings and not on reasoning or critical thinking," she said.
Her concerns echo alarm in the education sector over Mexico's results in the Program for International Student Assessment, or PISA, coordinated by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. The report showed a drop in performance, with Mexico falling to its lowest scores in two decades in both mathematics and reading.
Identity and sexuality in the classroom
Martínez Ruiz also warned that official materials take a questionable approach to identity, sexuality and diversity at early stages of child development.
"The SEP education authorities gave us some documents to follow a protocol with so-called 'trans' children, so we would know how to act when a boy perceives himself as a girl and vice versa. We see how laws are being prepared to implement that perverse ideology in Mexico," she said.
An open debate
The debate over Mexico's education reforms continues. Government authorities defend the New Mexican School's humanist and community-based approach. Some teachers and civil society organizations still question its teaching methods, academic rigor and assessment of learning.
Christians and parents elsewhere in Latin America are following similar debates in their own countries over the neutrality of public education.
Originally reported by Diario Cristiano, Christian Daily International's Spanish edition.
