Mexican cartoonist and writer Eduardo del Rio, known by his pen name of Rius, died in Tepoztlan, in the central state of Morelos, the Culture Secretariat reported Tuesday. He was 83.

  "With the passing of Rius, creator of an innovative style, an era ends in political cartoon and dissemination," Culture Secretary, Maria Cristina Garcia said on her Twitter account. "My sympathies to his relatives."

  Del Rio is considered one of the deans of political cartooning, and in the 1960s and 1970s he published "Los Supermachos", and "Los Agachados," two humorous strips with critical views on Mexican politics and the regime dominated by the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI).

  In his illustrated books and magazines, Rius explored a number of subjects including socialism, religion, sex, music, soccer, economics, philosophy, history and ecology.

  During his career spanning more than five decades, he produced more than 100 books, 400 comic strips and thousands of cartoons.

  Last December, Rios was awarded the first Gabriel Vargas Award for cartoons by the Mexico City's Culture Secretariat and the Estanquillo Museum, and he was described as "a cultural reference in Mexico."

  During his career, the artist received numerous awards including the National Journalism Prize for Cartoons (1987) along with La Catrina (2004), an award given during the International Cartoon and Comics Conference at the Guadalajara International Book Fair.

  Rius was a founder of magazines such as El Chauistle, El Chamuco, and Hijos del Averno, and published his cartoons in newspapers like La Jornada and El Universal and in Proceso magazine.