
former politician who served as President of Mexico
from 1 December 2000 to 30 November 2006 and currently serves as co-President of the Centrist Democrat International
, an international organization of Christian democratic
political parties.
Fox was elected President of Mexico in the 2000 presidential election
, a historically significant election that made him the first president elected from an opposition party since Francisco I. Madero
in 1910 and the first one in 71 years to defeat, with 42 percent of the vote, the then-dominant Institutional Revolutionary Party
(PRI).
After serving as president of Mexico for six years, President Fox returned to his home state of Guanajuato
, where he resides with his wife and family.
Change will not come from above, it will come from below, from the small and medium size businesspeople..
I am the guardian of power, not its owner.
Mexico doesn't deserve what has happened to us. A democratic change is urgent, a change that will permit us to stop being a loser country.
There's no doubt that Mexican men and women full of dignity, willpower and a capacity for work are doing the work that not even blacks want to do in the United States.
We are a nation in which freedom is alive in the squares and streets, in the daily work of the communications media, in the open relationship between the governing and the governed.
To be united, to be friendly, pays and pays well
I have the boots well placed in the ground, and I see reality up front, never giving it my back
Comes y te vas.
I hope one day the Holy Ghost lights our way so we can approve IRS and budget Reforms
We Mexicans believe in the force of the law, not in the law of force
former politician who served as President of Mexico
from 1 December 2000 to 30 November 2006 and currently serves as co-President of the Centrist Democrat International
, an international organization of Christian democratic
political parties.
Fox was elected President of Mexico in the 2000 presidential election
, a historically significant election that made him the first president elected from an opposition party since Francisco I. Madero
in 1910 and the first one in 71 years to defeat, with 42 percent of the vote, the then-dominant Institutional Revolutionary Party
(PRI).
After serving as president of Mexico for six years, President Fox returned to his home state of Guanajuato
, where he resides with his wife and family. Since leaving the presidency, Vicente Fox has been involved in public speaking and the construction of the Vicente Fox Center of Studies, Library and Museum
.
Fox is a member of the Club of Madrid
, an independent non-profit organization composed of 81 democratic former Presidents and Prime Ministers from 57 different countries.
Early years
Vicente Fox was born in Guanajuatoon July 2, 1942, the second of nine children. His father was José Luis Zorra Pont, a Mexican citizen and his mother Mercedes Quesada Etxaide, was Basque
from San Sebastian
, Gipuzkoa, Spain
. Fox's paternal grandfather was born Joseph Louis Fuchs in Cincinnati, Ohio
, the son of Catholic
immigrants Louis Fuchs and Catherina Elisabetha Flach of Strasbourg
, now in France
. The "Fox" surname was changed from the German "Fuchs" during the 1870s.
Fox spent his childhood and adolescence at the family ranch in San Francisco del Rincón
in Guanajuato
. He moved to Mexico City to attend the Universidad Iberoamericana
and received a Bachelors Degree in Business Administration in 1964. He earned his diploma in Top Management Skills from the Harvard Business School
in the United States
in 1974.
In 1964, Fox went to work for the Coca-Cola Company where he started as a route supervisor, and he drove a delivery truck. He quickly rose in the company to become the supervisor of Coca-Cola's operations in Mexico, and later in all of Latin America
. As the President of Coca Cola Mexico, Fox helped Coca-Cola
become Mexico's top-selling soft drink, increasing Coca-Cola's sales by almost 50%.
Vicente Fox married a receptionist at Coca-Cola, Lilian de la Concha. They adopted four children, Ana Cristina, Vicente, Paulina, and Rodrigo. In 1990, after 20 years of marriage, Lilian filed for and was granted a divorce.
Vicente Fox married for the second time while in office as President. He married Marta María Sahagún Jiménez
(until then his spokesperson) on July 2, 2001, the first anniversary of his presidential election and his 59th birthday. For both, this was their second marriage.
After retiring from Coca-Cola, Vicente Fox began to participate in various public activities in Guanajuato, where he created the "Patronato de la Casa Cuna Amigo Daniel", an orphanage. He was the president of the Patronato Loyola, a sponsor of the León
campus of the Universidad Iberoamericana
, and of the Lux Institute.
Early political career
With the support of Manuel Clouthier, Vicente Fox joined the Partido Acción Nacional
on March 1, 1988. That same year he ran for and was elected to the federal Chamber of Deputies representing the Third Federal District in León, Guanajuato
.
Governor of Guanajuato
After serving in the Chamber of Deputies, Fox sought the governorship in Guanajuato in 1991, but lost to Ramón Aguirre Velázquez of the PRI
. Following the election, local discontent was so great that the state Congress appointed Carlos Medina Plascencia
of the PAN
as interim governor. Four years later, Fox decided to run again, winning by a vote of 2 to 1; thus, he became the new governor.
As governor, Fox promoted government efficiency and transparency. He was one of the first state governors of Mexico to give a clear, public and timely account of the finances of Guanajuato.
Fox pushed for the consolidation of small firms, promoted the sale of goods manufactured in Guanajuato overseas and created a unique system in which micro-credits with no overdue portfolio were granted. Under Fox, the state became the fifth most important Mexican state economy.
Campaign for President
On July 7, 1997 (three years before the presidential election of 2000), Vicente Fox decided to run for President of Mexico. In spite of opposition within his party, Fox secured his candidacy representing the Alliance for Change, a political coalition formed by the National Action Party
and the Green Ecological Party of Mexico on November 14, 1999.
During the course of his campaign a presidential debate was organized. There was a disagreement between the three main contenders, Fox, Francisco Labastida
of the PRI and Cuauhtémoc Cárdenas
of the PRD, and some of the arguments were broadcast on national television, notably the one on whether the debate should be held that same day or the following Friday. For minutes, Fox kept repeating the word "Hoy" meaning "today", originating the famous phrase "hoy, hoy, hoy!". The other candidates decided to postpone the debate, but Fox used that day's airtime anyway. At first the action brought criticism to Fox, but it soon backfired against his opponents when Fox started using his new phrase to gain new supporters as he campaigned for a better future "today".
Fox's primary voting bloc were the Criollo
and Mestizo
populace of Northern and Central Mexico.
During the presidential debate his main opponent, Francisco Labastida, claimed in a nationally televised debate that Vicente Fox had repeatedly called him a "sissy
" and a "cross-dresser
". Fox's campaign slogans were "¡Ya!" ("Right now!"), "Ya ganamos" ("We've already won") and "Vota Alianza por el Cambio" meaning "Vote for Alliance for Change".
Amigos de Fox
Amigos de Fox("Friends of Fox") was a non-profit fund raising group establishe by Denise Montaño that was instrumental in getting Vicente Fox elected President of Mexico. The phrase was also used as a campaign slogan referring to the millions of people supporting Fox in the 2000 presidential elections.
In 2003, money-laundering charges were lodged against the fund raising group, but were dropped shortly before the July 2003 mid-term elections.
Election results
On July 2, 2000, (Fox's 58th birthday) he won the presidential election with 43% (15,989,636 votes) of the popular vote, followed by the Institutional Revolutionary Party(PRI) candidate Francisco Labastida
with 36% (13,579,718 votes), and Cuauhtémoc Cárdenas
of the Party of the Democratic Revolution
(PRD) with 17% (6,256,780 votes). Vicente Fox declared victory that same night, a victory which was ratified by President Zedillo. After the final results were announced, President-elect Vicente Fox met with thousands of supporters at the Angel of Independence
monument in Mexico City, to address his supporters and celebrate his victory. His opponents conceded the election later that night.
President-elect Vicente Fox received an enormous amount of media coverage, as well as many congratulating messages and phone calls from world leaders including then President of the United States, Bill Clinton
.
Fox took office as president on December 1, 2000, marking the first time in Mexico's history that an incumbent government peacefully surrendered power to an elected member of the opposition.
Public image

At six foot five, President Fox easily stood out in most crowds, and is believed to be one of the tallest presidents in Mexican history. After his inauguration, President Fox usually only wore suits for formal occasions, opting to wear his signature boots and jeans throughout his many visits around Mexico.
When President Fox welcomed U.S. President George W. Bush
to his ranch in Guanajuato
, both presidents were wearing Fox’s signature black cowboy boots, prompting the Wall Street Journal to call it “The Boot Summit”.
Controversial comments
- In March 2002, 2 days prior to The International Conference on Financing for Development held in Monterrey, NL. México, Fox called Cuban President Fidel Castro to give him instructions that would limit Castro's presence in the country while attending to the summit. He instructed Castro among other things to limit his comments regarding the United StatesUnited StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, to arrive, give his speech, eat and leave the country ASAP. This led Castro years later to call Fox as "despicable and treacherous".

- In May 2005, a controversy arose over comments Fox made during a meeting with Texas businesspeople in which he said, "There is no doubt that Mexicans, filled with dignity, willingness and ability to work, are doing jobs that not even blacks want to do there in the United States." This angered many African-Americans in the United States, prompting many black leaders to demand an apology from Fox. The Reverend Al SharptonAl SharptonAlfred Charles "Al" Sharpton, Jr. is an American Baptist minister, civil rights activist, and television/radio talk show host. In 2004, he was a candidate for the Democratic nomination for the U.S. presidential election...
requested a formal apology from Fox to the African-American community and called for an economic boycottBoycottA boycott is an act of voluntarily abstaining from using, buying, or dealing with a person, organization, or country as an expression of protest, usually for political reasons...
of Mexican products until an apology was received; he and many African-Americans felt that Fox's comments were insensitive and racist. The Reverend Jesse JacksonJesse JacksonJesse Louis Jackson, Sr. is an African-American civil rights activist and Baptist minister. He was a candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1984 and 1988 and served as shadow senator for the District of Columbia from 1991 to 1997. He was the founder of both entities that merged to...
, during a news conference concerning Fox's statement about African-Americans, said that he felt that the comments were, "unwitting, unnecessary and inappropriate" and added that "[Fox's] statement had the impact of being inciting and divisive."
- Fox was also known to have misspoken the name of Argentine writer Jorge Luis BorgesJorge Luis BorgesJorge Francisco Isidoro Luis Borges Acevedo , known as Jorge Luis Borges , was an Argentine writer, essayist, poet and translator born in Buenos Aires. In 1914 his family moved to Switzerland where he attended school, receiving his baccalauréat from the Collège de Genève in 1918. The family...
as "José Luis Borgués" in the Royal Congress of the Spanish LanguageReal Academia EspañolaThe Royal Spanish Academy is the official royal institution responsible for regulating the Spanish language. It is based in Madrid, Spain, but is affiliated with national language academies in twenty-one other hispanophone nations through the Association of Spanish Language Academies...
. This error sparked accusations of an "uncultured" President.
- On May 30, 2005, President Vicente Fox told reporters that the majority of the Juárez killings had been resolved and the perpetrators placed behind bars. He went on to criticize the media for "rehashing" the same 300 or 400 murders, and said matters needed to be seen in their "proper dimension".
- In 2006 after Evo MoralesEvo MoralesJuan Evo Morales Ayma , popularly known as Evo , is a Bolivian politician and activist, currently serving as the 80th President of Bolivia, a position that he has held since 2006. He is also the leader of both the Movement for Socialism party and the cocalero trade union...
refused to sell natural gas to willing buyers, Fox said, "Well, they'll either have to consume it all themselves or they're going to have to eat it."
- In yet another controversial move he decided to cancel the parade commemorating the 96th anniversary of the Mexican RevolutionMexican RevolutionThe Mexican Revolution was a major armed struggle that started in 1910, with an uprising led by Francisco I. Madero against longtime autocrat Porfirio Díaz. The Revolution was characterized by several socialist, liberal, anarchist, populist, and agrarianist movements. Over time the Revolution...
to take place November 20, arguing that it's an obsolete celebration in which nobody wants to participate anymore. Some analysts consider that this is a response to Andrés Manuel López Obrador's alternative presidency assuming to take place the same day. Criticism changes regarding the different sources: while some consider it a smart decision, others view it as a sign of political weakness.
- On March 8, 2006, in the wake of the murder of Canadian couple Domenico and Nancy Ianiero at a CancunCancúnCancún is a city of international tourism development certified by the UNWTO . Located on the northeast coast of Quintana Roo in southern Mexico, more than 1,700 km from Mexico City, the Project began operations in 1974 as Integrally Planned Center, a pioneer of FONATUR Cancún is a city of...
Mexican resort, Fox said that there was evidence that pointed to Canadian suspects from Thunder BayThunder Bay-In Canada:Thunder Bay is the name of three places in the province of Ontario, Canada along Lake Superior:*Thunder Bay District, Ontario, a district in Northwestern Ontario*Thunder Bay, a city in Thunder Bay District*Thunder Bay, Unorganized, Ontario...
, in order to assert that Cancun remained a safe vacation resort. Fox's comments were criticized by the Ianiero's lawyer Edward GreenspanEdward GreenspanEdward Leonard Greenspan, QC is a Canadian lawyer and prolific author of legal volumes. He is one of the most famous defence lawyers in Canada, owing to several high-profile clients and to his national exposure on the popular Canadian Broadcasting Corporation radio series, The Scales of Justice .A...
for compromising the investigation, which Mexican authorities had largely mishandled. Quintana RooQuintana RooQuintana Roo officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Quintana Roo is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 10 municipalities and its capital city is Chetumal....
attorney general Bello Melchor Rodriguez later stated that the Canadians were never considered as suspects.
- In November 2006, the TV network TelemundoTelemundoTelemundo is an American television network that broadcasts in Spanish. The network is the second-largest Spanish-language content producer in the world, and the second-largest Spanish-language network in the United States, behind Univision....
released a video recording previous to an interview with President Fox where he states: "Ya hoy hablo libre, ya digo cualquier tontería, ya no importa, ya total, yo ya me voy," which means "Now, I speak freely. Now, I say any stupidity. It doesn't matter anymore. Anyway, I'm already leaving." Then, during the interview he talked about the violent situation in OaxacaOaxacaOaxaca , , officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Oaxaca is one of the 31 states which, along with the Federal District, comprise the 32 federative entities of Mexico. It is divided into 571 municipalities; of which 418 are governed by the system of customs and traditions...
. The President's office complained about the release of this images and said he was not aware of the camera and microphones being turned on. News agency EFEEFEEFE is a Spanish news agency created in 1939 by Spain's former minister of the press and propaganda Ramón Serrano Súñer and Manuel Aznar Zubigaray....
accused Telemundo of acting unethically, for the video is their intellectual property.
- In a lecture in the United States, in which he was a keynote speaker, he identified writer Mario Vargas LlosaMario Vargas LlosaJorge Mario Pedro Vargas Llosa, 1st Marquis of Vargas Llosa is a Peruvian-Spanish writer, politician, journalist, essayist, and Nobel Prize laureate. Vargas Llosa is one of Latin America's most significant novelists and essayists, and one of the leading authors of his generation...
as a Nobel laureated Colombian, when he is Peruvian (Spanish by naturalization) and, at the time, was not a Nobel Laureate. Later, in October 2010, Fox congratulated Vargas Llosa on TwitterTwitterTwitter is an online social networking and microblogging service that enables its users to send and read text-based posts of up to 140 characters, informally known as "tweets".Twitter was created in March 2006 by Jack Dorsey and launched that July...
for winning the Nobel Prize in LiteratureNobel Prize in LiteratureSince 1901, the Nobel Prize in Literature has been awarded annually to an author from any country who has, in the words from the will of Alfred Nobel, produced "in the field of literature the most outstanding work in an ideal direction"...
, but he incorrectly attributed a Nobel Prize to Jorge Luis BorgesJorge Luis BorgesJorge Francisco Isidoro Luis Borges Acevedo , known as Jorge Luis Borges , was an Argentine writer, essayist, poet and translator born in Buenos Aires. In 1914 his family moved to Switzerland where he attended school, receiving his baccalauréat from the Collège de Genève in 1918. The family...
.
Public speaking

, Canada and the United States about topics such as the controversial 2006 election
and the Iraq War. In Mexico, Fox's busy post-presidency has caused much criticism because traditionally former Presidents in Mexico are expected to stay out of the public/political spotlight. Nevertheless, Fox stated:
In addition, President Fox has expressed interest in campaigning for PAN
candidates in future Mexican elections, an action that would make him the first former president in many decades to do so. Given that President Fox is still well-liked and left office with approval ratings looming 70%, many in Mexico are wondering if his support could result in candidates being elected.
Autobiography

, who questioned him about the massive illegal immigration problem of Mexicans into the United States. Finally, during an interview with Telemundo
's Rubén Luengas, the interviewer asked Fox about allegations concerning some properties of Vicente Fox's wife, Martha Sahagún. After Fox explained the situation he asked the interviewer not to make false accusations and to prove what he was saying. Luengas said "I'm telling you in your face, I'm not a liar". After this Fox walked out of the studio, calling the interviewer a 'liar', 'vulgar', and 'stupid'. Upon the book's release, many were surprised to read several excerpts wherein Fox was highly critical of United States President, George W. Bush
, considered by many to be a close friend of Fox's. For example, Fox wrote that Bush was "the cockiest guy I have ever met in my life," and claimed that he was surprised that Bush had ever made it to the White House. Later, in an interview with Larry King
, Fox explained that this was a misunderstanding; what he meant by calling George W. Bush 'cocky' was to say he was 'confident'. Fox also referred to Bush in his autobiography as a "windshield cowboy", due to Bush's apparent fear of a horse Fox offered him to ride.
Fox Center of Studies, Library and Museum
- See: Vicente Fox Center of Studies, Library and MuseumVicente Fox Center of Studies, Library and MuseumThe Vicente Fox Center of Studies, Library and Museum is a presidential history center founded by former President of Mexico Vicente Fox near his ranch in Guanajuato, Mexico...
On January 12, 2007, over a month after he left office, Vicente Fox announced the construction of a center of studies, library and museum that has been labeled by the US press as Mexico's First Presidential Library. The project will be a library, museum, a "center for the advancement of democracy", a study center, and a hotel, and it will be completely privately funded. It is expected to be a genuine U.S. style presidential library. It will be built in his home state of Guanajuato
, in his home town of San Francisco del Rincón
.
While museums are abundant throughout the country, it has nothing comparable to a presidential library where personal documents, records, and gifts amassed by a country’s leader are opened to the public. Fox’s library will be modeled after the Bill Clinton Library in Little Rock, Arkansas
, which, according to the former President, will allow Mexicans to enjoy, for the first time in Mexico’s history, the liberty to review the documents, images and records that made up his six years as president.
According to the official website, the construction of the Center is in progress and advancing. Final completion of the library is expected by late 2007.
Centrist Democratic International
On September 20, 2007, Fox was elected Co-President (along with the re-elected Pier Ferdinando Casini) of the Centrist Democratic International
at its leader's meeting in Rome. The CDI is the international organization of political parties that counts Fox's party, the National Action Party
, as a member.
Statue controversy

, Veracruz
, that a 3 meter (10 ft) statue of Vicente Fox was to be erected to honor the former president. This aroused much criticism from the opposition Party of the Democratic Revolution
and Mexican media towards Boca del Río's mayor, who is affiliated with the National Action Party
, of which Fox is also a member.
The statue was put in place amidst protests on the dawn of October 13, 2007. The inauguration was to have been held on October 14, 2007. Some hours after the installation, however, a crowd of about 100 people brought the statue down with a rope, damaging it. The statue was later put back in place for the inauguration, then taken away for repairs.
PAN members accused Veracruz's governor, Fidel Herrera Beltrán
, of ordering the attack on the statue, while Fox called him "intolerant." Some sources in the media considered that the installation of the statue was inappropriate, since former President Fox was facing allegations relating to an illicit enrichment scandal.
Many of the protesters were members of the center-left Institutional Revolutionary Party
(PRI), which governed Mexico for much of the 20th century, until Fox (of the conservative National Action Party [PAN]) won the 2000 presidential election, ousting the PRI from power.
See also
- List of Presidents of Mexico
- National Action Party (Mexico)National Action Party (Mexico)The National Action Party , is one of the three main political parties in Mexico. The party's political platform is generally considered Centre-Right in the Mexican political spectrum. Since 2000, the President of Mexico has been a member of this party; both houses have PAN pluralities, but the...
- Mexican general election, 2000Mexican general election, 2000General elections were held in Mexico on 6 July 2000. The presidential elections were won by Vicente Fox of the Alliance for Change, who received 43.4% of the vote, the first time the opposition had won an election since the Mexican Revolution...
Sources
Schmidt, Samuel. 2000. Mexico encadenado. El legado de Zedillo y los retos de Fox. Mexico D.F.: ColibriExternal links
- Vicente Fox website during his Presidency
- Vicente Fox Museum and Library
- Extended bio and presidential tenure, by CIDOB FoundationCIDOB FoundationCIDOB, acronym of Barcelona Centre for International Affairs , is a Catalan think-tank based in Barcelona, Spain, dedicated to research, document and divulge contents of the different areas of international relations and...
- Vicente Fox Interview on The Hour with George StroumboulopoulosGeorge StroumboulopoulosGeorge Mark Paul Stroumboulopoulos is a Canadian television and radio personality, best known as the host of CBC Television's George Stroumboulopoulos Tonight and being a VJ for Canadian music television channel MuchMusic...