Mexican FIL president Raúl Padilla López took his own life (PHOTOS)

• Mexican FIL president Raúl Padilla López took his own life.
• Celebrities react to the tragic news.
• Heartbreaking details of his suicide are revealed.

President of the Mexican FIL, Raúl Padilla López, took his own life. On Sunday, April 2, the tragic news of the death of the president of the Mexican International Book Fair (FIL) of Guadalajara and the Guadalajara International Film Festival was reported.

According to EFE, officials have confirmed that the businessman took his own life on Sunday. The Jalisco Attorney General’s Office of western Mexico released a statement about the incident.

President of the Mexican FIL, Raúl Padilla López, took his own life

In a statement, the state agency reported that it is investigating the circumstances behind the death of the former rector of the University of Guadalajara (UdeG), who was found at his home in the Vallarta Poniente neighborhood of Guadalajara.

“The security units arrived at the scene, as well as municipal paramedics who confirmed the fact. Preliminarily, a firearm was located at the scene, as well as a posthumous message,» the agency said, according to EFE.

Raúl Padilla López was one of the most important Mexican figures in recent years

The UdeG mourns the death of the man they described as «one of the most important cultural promoters in recent history in Mexico». He founded the FIL and received the 2020 Princess of Asturias Award for Communication and Humanities.

Padilla López, 69, was rector of the UdeG from 1989 to 1995, when he promoted a reform to create the Jalisco University Network. He was also a promoter of the University Cultural Center and various initiatives to promote the arts.

Celebrities say goodbye to the Mexican businessman

Many celebrities have said goodbye to Raúl Padilla López as he was highly respected in the entertainment world. Telemundo journalist Jessica Maldonado shared photo on Instagram of the deceased businessman and expressed her shock: “Education and culture are in mourning. My deepest condolences to his family and friends but more to the entire #StudentCommunity. My gratitude forever, I’m shocked and sad with this news I don’t quite understand.”

Director Guillermo del Toro also posted about the terrible loss: “I am in Scotland, and the painful news of the death of Raúl Padilla reaches me. Since the foundation of the FIL, the FICG – he always maintained the conviction that Guadalajara had an international level. He was there in painful moments and in good moments…”

Media confrontations he had with the Jalisco government

Marcelo Ebrard also spoke about the unfortunate news of Raúl Padilla’s death. “I mourn the death of Raúl Padilla, whom I had the pleasure of meeting several decades ago. My sincere condolences to his family, his many friends and the university community of Guadalajara. Rest in peace,” he said on Twitter.

Over the last three years, the cultural promoter had various media confrontations with the governor of Jalisco, Enrique Alfaro, and with President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, who described him as part of «the caciques» who control public universities in the country.