Literacy and reading promotion initiatives in Latin America

Various regional programs are working to promote literacy and reading habits through different methods. In Mexico, municipal efforts in Cañada Morelos, Puebla, involved the distribution of over 32,000 free textbooks across primary, secondary, and preschool levels. Additionally, Governor Salomón Jara Cruz in Oaxaca led a reading promotion event for high school students focused on historical texts to foster critical thinking.

Private sector and non-profit initiatives are also active. In Mexico, the ‘Cajita Feliz Libros’ program, operated by Arcos Dorados, has distributed approximately 450,000 books through McDonald’s Happy Meals between January 2024 and June 2026 to integrate reading into family life. In Chile, the ‘Mi Primer Rincón Lector’ program, supported by the Fundación de Desarrollo San Antonio Siglo XXI and Codelco División El Teniente, has expanded to include municipal schools and maintains 21 active reading spaces in the San Antonio area. This includes the inauguration of a new space at Colegio España in Llolleo, which provides curated bibliographic collections and high-quality furniture with technical advisory from the Universidad de Valparaíso.

In Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas, the library at the Reginaldo Elizondo kindergarten was recently reopened, with local figures emphasizing the importance of strengthening learning spaces and early childhood access to books. Relatedly, students at the Juan Ramón Jiménez kindergarten participated in a democratic voting exercise to name their school library. Using materials from the National Electoral Institute, 55 students voted to select the name ‘Tesoros de Papel’ as an exercise in civic participation.