Abstract
According to the author, the poet, critic and essayist Octavio Paz, along with other outstanding 20th century intellectuals such as Alfonso Reyes and Jaime Torres Bodet, reached the intellectual freedom that was sought after by the wise Creoles of the 18th century such as Juan José de Eguiara y Eguren and Francisco Javier Clavijero. However, this transit of intellectual dependence of the European movements to a critic independence has been a difficult process, since the courteous Mexican tradition that goes back to Colonial times, continues on to the end of the 19th century with the porfirism and that lasts until our days, makes that many of our intellectuals swerve off the road to reach bureaucratic positions or live inside of the "golden exile of diplomacy". In all, Octavio Paz, with poetic works such as Libertad bajo palabra and Piedra de sol, essays like El laberinto de la soledad, El arco y la lira, and books of literary critic such as Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz o las trampas de la fe, has contributed in placing Mexico and Mexican people in the world's cultural map.