The Colegio de San Nicolás was established as the institution that would ensure the continuity of Pátzcuaro’s plans to serve as the seat of the bishopric and the "pueblos hospitales" (hospital towns), as it was meant to train educators for both Purépecha and Spanish youth. In 1938, by presidential decree of General Lázaro Cárdenas del Río, the Museum of Folk Arts was founded—one of the first museums in the country dedicated to this theme.