Roxana del Consuelo Sáizar Guerrero (born 1961 in Acaponeta, Nayarit, Mexico), is an editor and publisher, former CEO of Fondo de Cultura Económica (2002-2009), President of the National Council for Culture and the Arts (CONACULTA) (2009-2012) and President of the Regional Center for the Promotion of Books in Latin America and the Caribbean (Cerlalc) (2010-2012). She began her career working in the family printing business at her home state of Nayarit. After graduating with a degree in Communications in 1983, she began to manage editorial departments and publishing houses until 2002, when she was appointed director of government-owned Fondo de Cultura Económica, which is considered the largest publishing house in Latin America. She restructured the organization and started its electronic publishing program. In 2009, she was named President of CONACULTA, an institution devoted to promoting Mexican culture both domestically and abroad, that has since been transformed into the National Ministry of Culture.
Life
Sáizar was born in Acaponeta, Nayarit, Mexico in 1961. She often jokes that in her small hometown most girls think about becoming hairdressers or read poetry. In her case, she was born into a family related to print media. Her grandfather owned a print shop and a newspaper he founded in 1917. Her father then inherited the newspaper.
She began working on the family business when she was young, then decided to make a professional career of that. She received a bachelor's degree in Communications from Universidad Iberoamericana in 1983. She continued studying accounting, public administration and finance, receiving certificates from this university as well as from the Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de México. She also studied publishing in Great Britain.
She has had personal and professional relationships with a number of important writers and intellectuals, including Juan Rulfo, Jorge Luis Borges, Octavio Paz, Gabriel García Márquez, José Emilio Pacheco and Carlos Monsiváis . She has stated that her most precious possession is a copy of The Aleph autographed by Jorge Luis Borges.
Career
Publishing
Her professional life has been devoted to book publishing. From 1978 to 1979, she was also a reporter and writer in Nayarit for El Observador in Tepic and El Heraldo de México in Mexico City .
She was an external consultant with Martín Casillas Editores and with Editorial Trillas from 1980 to 1983. She was also production manager and department coordinator for Editorial Terranova in 1982.
In 1983, she was recruited by Juan Landereche Obregón, owner of Editorial Jus, who acted as her mentor. She remained with the company as general manager until 1990. From 1988 to 1989, she was also a contributor to the newspaper La Jornada as well as a press consultant for the Fondo Nacional para Actividades Sociales.
In 1990, she created her own publishing company, Hoja Casa Editorial, with partner Gerardo Gally. She directed the company until 2002.
She was elections advisor (consejera electoral) for Mexico City in 1997 and is a member of the Consejo Asesor de Causa Ciudadana.
In 2000, the Mexican Book Chamber (Caniem) awarded her its Editorial Art Prize.
Fondo de Cultura Económica
In 2002, Sáizar was named the first female director of the Fondo de Cultura Económica (FCE), one of the most prestigious publishers in Spanish, created in 1934 by Daniel Cosío Villegas . She was named head of the FCE after the head of the Secretaría de Educación Pública removed her predecessor, Gonzalo Celorio, without explanation. Sáizar was not part of the controversy. She remained in the position until 2009.
When she took over the FCE she worked to enhance the number of writers published by FCE. While head of the FCE, she created new collections, such as "Obra Reunida", that included works by authors such as Carlos Fuentes, Sergio Pitol, Elena Poniatowska, among others. She also completed publication of Octavio Paz's complete works.
She began to restructure the institution to increase its production and reach. She opened FCE bookstores in Mexico City, most notably the Centro Cultural Bella Época, in various Mexican states and even abroad, such as the Centro Cultural Gabriel García Márquez in 2008 in Bogota, Colombia. FCE books continued to be sold through affiliates in Peru, Guatemala, Venezuela, Brazil, Spain, Chile, the United States of America and Colombia.