Its official mascot is the jaguar and its artistics and culturals teams are called "Jaguares" or "Jags" With the city of Tijuana already undergoing fast development, especially as a strategically located border town between the U.S. and México back in the middle of the 1900s, the need for higher education for its fast growing population soon became imminent; the need to offer post-secondary studies spurred the creation of the first high school ('Preparatoria' as it is called in México) in the region, this at a time when Baja California was still considered as a territory (and therefore highly dependent upon the federal government regarding its governance and administration), before becoming a proper 'State' of Mexico.
In 1971 the school adopted the name 'Lázaro Cárdenas', after the former Mexican president famous for, amongst other measures, the nationalization of the oil industry and largely improving and expanding education throughout the country, who had died on October 19, 1970.
was the response given by the President of Mexico, Luis Echeverria Alvarez, to the pledge posed to him with a blanket by a large crowd of students on the night of December 2, 1973, at the school's 'Salvador Allende' Civic Plaza[clarification needed].
Due to the constantly growing demand of students seeking high school education, Barraza pointed to the need to hold classes during the morning hours.
Students and campus leaders were asking for laboratories, classrooms and sports fields and, most importantly the federalization of the school; President Echeverria fulfilled the request, and awarded two million pesos for the construction of an all-new building.
The study program meets the requirements specified by the Secretary of Higher Secondary Education (SEMS), that regulates the Secretaria de Educación Pública (SEP].
The International Baccalaureate (IB) aims to develop caring, informed and eager for knowledge students, who help to create a better and more peaceful world in the context of mutual understanding and intercultural respect.
The main objective of the IB program is to train internationally minded people, aware of the condition that unites human beings and the shared responsibility to ensure the planet, help to create a better and more peaceful world.