Luis Enrique Erro

Who was Luis Enrique Erro?

Luis Enrique Erro was a Mexican astronomer, politician, and educational reformer.

Born in Mexico City, Erro studied civil engineering and accounting, among other subjects. He occupied the post of head of the Department of Technical Education until 1934. He revamped Mexico’s system of technical education in 1932, when he established the Advanced School of Mechanical Engineers and Electricians and the Advanced School of Construction. He also helped create the National Polytechnic Institute in 1936.

In 1940, he was invited to become a member of the administration of President Manuel Ávila Camacho, with whom he collaborated on a project to build an observatory in Tonantzintla, Puebla, where there existed atmospheric conditions favorable for astronomical studies. He renounced his post as director of this observatory in 1947 and returned to Mexico City, where he dedicated himself to writing articles on astronomy for the newspaper Excélsior. As an amateur astronomer, he is also noted for his study of southern variable stars.

Due to a heart condition, he was interned for several weeks, during which time he wrote a novel, Los pies descalzos, which concerns Emiliano Zapata.