NOTEWORTHY DEATHS

LITTLE ROCK — Mexican author, political activist

MEXICO CITY - Renowned Mexican journalist, critic and political activist

Carlos Monsivais

died Saturday at 72.

Examining his own country like a pop anthropologist, Monsivais chronicled Mexico’s historic upheavals, social trends and literature for more than 50 years. He was also known as a tireless and ubiquitous activist for leftist causes.

“He was a chronicler and witness for his era,” President Felipe Calderon’s office said in a statement. “We Mexicans will miss his critical, reflective and independent vision.”

Born on May 4, 1938, Monsivais was deeply affected by the 1968 massacre by security forces of protesting students in Mexico City’s Tlatelolco neighborhood. Official reports put the death toll at 25, but rights activists say as many as 350 may have been killed.

He was an early and enthusiastic defender of the leftist Zapatista rebels who staged a brief armed uprising early in 1994 demanding rights for Indians in Chiapas, Mexico’s southernmost state.

Monsivais’ best-known works include the books Dias de Guardar and Escenas de Pudor y Liviandad and his long-running newspaper column Por Mi Madre Bohemios, in which he explored everything from the often-strange language of politicians to the most recent soap opera phenomena.