It is part of the Mexican Honours System and was established in 1945 by President Manuel Ávila Camacho to promote the country's artistic, scientific, and technological advancement.
[2] The prize is a gold medal, a rosette, a diploma signed by the President of Mexico and over $823,313.95 pesos (Approximately $40,000 US dollars).
[3][4][2] Prior to 1945, a National Literature Prize (Spanish: Premio Nacional de Literatura) was established by the Secretariat of Public Education, which ceased to be awarded after the creation of the present prize.
In a controversial move, in 2020 Bertha Cecilia Navarro y Solares, movie producer, was awarded an ″extraordinary distinction.″[5][6] For a complete list of winners in tabular format, see the corresponding article in Spanish.
Lingüística y Literatura[7][1] Bellas Artes[7][1] Historia, Ciencias Sociales y Filosofía[7][1] Artes y Tradiciones Populares[7][1] Awards in this field were first presented in 2004 and are the only ones that can be given to institutions and individuals.