The critic here discusses the role of the Salón de la Plástica Mexicana (SPM) [Mexican Visual Arts Salon] which, according to him, no longer performs the function for which it was originally created. His remarks are based on his observations of the last annual painting salon held there: "It neither adds to, nor detracts from, the artists exhibited there and, in fact, to judge from their works, it does little to stimulate their artistic creativity." He believes that the problem arises from the restrictions imposed on exhibitions, as well as from the practice of bestowing the acquisition prize before the show has even opened. In his view what is lacking is the "natural selection of the public and [the] opinions of the critics that can influence and aid the jury in making a choice that is more to everyone’s taste in each particular case." He regrets the recent accessions, a painting by Juan Soriano and another by Elena Tolmacs, as "works that rely entirely on color."

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In 1949, the Instituto Nacional de Bellas Artes [INBA, National Institute of Fine Arts] created the SPM on the recommendation of the deputy director, Fernando Gamboa. The original idea for the salon—other than solving to some extent the lack of exhibition space for easel paintings— was to organize conferences, round table discussions and contests as a form of aesthetic exchange between the member artists. But it became the exclusive bastion of the so-called Mexican School of Painting for being funded by the government; thus inhibiting the involvement of artists whose work did not fall within the School’s canon. Therefore, the salon became just one more venue where pro-government artists could show their work. In fact, Juan Soriano (1920–2006) was a member purely on the basis of his work prior to the 1950s, which was figurative and hewed to a more academic aesthetic. His La madre [The Mother] did not in any way fit in the nationalist mold that was praised by the official hegemonic movement, nor could it remotely be considered an example of traditional figuration; so, when it was awarded the 1954 Prize it represented a genuine aesthetic reversal for the members of that institution.