The Cinvestav was created by presidential decree issued by President Adolfo López Mateos on April 17, 1961, and amended by Presidential Decree by President José López Portillo on September 17, 1982.
In accordance with the provisions of the decree, the Cinvestav is a decentralized public agency with legal personality and its own patrimony. To perform its functions, the Federal Government gives an annual subsidy. Besides the subsidy, the institution is supported by contributions from various sources: Decentralized Agencies, foreign institutions, industry and individuals. The fundamental objectives that the Cinvestav pursues are: The teachers and researchers specialist preparation to promote the constant improvement of education and create the conditions to realize original researches in scientific and technological areas to raise the living standards and the development of the country. The Center actually has 28 academic departments organized in 9 campuses, two of them are in Mexico City and seven are distributed around the Mexican Republic.