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Vicente Fox Quesada
72nd President of Mexico
In office December 1, 2000 – December 1, 2006
Preceded by	Ernesto Zedillo Ponce de León
Personal details
Born	July 2, 1942 Mexico City, Mexico
Political party	National Action Party
Spouse	Marta Sahagun

Vicente Fox Quesada (born July 2, 1942) is the current President of Mexico. He was elected in the 2000 presidential election, a historically significant election that made him the first president elected from an opposition party since Francisco Madero in 1910. His current term runs through 2006.

Relations with Congress

In the last annual state of the union in 2006, President Fox was prevented by PRD opposition lawmakers from delivering his speech. He, instead, gave a televised address to the nation. PRD lawmakers did this as a protest against the result of the 2006 election, and as a protest for the Federal Police protecting the Legislative Palace. However, the decision from sending the police to defend the Palace was done after threats by the PRD of inciting violence inside congress.

Relations with Latin American countries

Vicente Fox had several controversies with Latin American countries such as with president of Argentina, Nestor Kirchner related the FTAA during the 2005 Mar del Plata Summit of the Americas, with president of Chile regarding the new OAS Secretary General election, 2005 and president of Venezuela, Hugo Chávez about his theoretical support for the U.S. president George W. Bush.

The presidential couple

Legacy

Economy

This slower pace of growth is criticized by opponents, particularly from the left, who argue that it has produced a loss of jobs (180,000 jobs lost from 2000 to 2005) .

His inflation control has also been praised. President Fox has delivered the lowest, single digit, inflation in decades. In the 1980s, Mexico had suffered of hyperinflation, and since 1993 the inflation rate had usually been double-digit, but since Fox the inflation has been of 4% in average. This has been achieved through control in government spending and a contractionary policy that is heavily critiziced. However, it has created a stability in prices and investor confidence that has resulted in record-highs in the Mexican Stock Exchange . Further, this inflationary policy has produced the lowest interests rates for credit in decades, and the construction industry has benefited from the largest housing program in history, resulting in a sprawl of new homes nationwide.

Because of the stability that his inflation policy provides, President Fox has, incorrectly, called his economic policy "growth with stability". This was a policy of Mexican presidents between 1958 and 1970 where they achieved economic growth of approximately 6% . However, such policies included a strong control of the exchange rate through direct government intervention, internal market orientation (instead of open market globalization), and heavy investment in government owned companies. Because of this, Fox's economic policies do not qualify as "growth with stability". Poverty has decreased dramatically during President Vicente Fox's government. Income has grown from 2000 to 2006 an average 26% . However, lower incomes have grown much more than higher incomes, and so critics point to the middle class to deny any reduction in poverty.

Foreign policy

Before Vicente Fox, Mexico had a Foreign Policy "doctrine" known as the Doctrina Estrada (Estrada Doctrine, so named after its creator, Genaro Estrada). The Doctrina Estrada was a foreign policy directorate that favored an enclosed view of sovereignty. It claimed that foreign governments should not judge, for good or bad, governments or changes in governments in other nations, because it would imply a breach to its sovereignty.

President Fox appointed intellectual Jorge Castañeda to be his Secretary of Foreign Affairs. Castañeda immediately broke with the Estrada Doctrine, promoting what was called by critics the "Castañeda Doctrine".

The Mexican government denied any pressure to make Castro leave. However, a few days later, Cuba released to the Mexican press a recording of a telephone call between Castro and Fox in which the latter asked Castro to leave Monterrey before President George W. Bush arrived to the summit. President Fox used the expression "comes y te vas" (spanish for 'you eat, and then you leave', which means that he just wanted Castro to show up to say that he showed up, but didn't really wanted him to remain at all). The incident generated criticism for President Fox, and exposed Castro for his lack of ethics in International Relations.

Law enforcement

In 2006 Mexico's government attempted to find a way to decriminalize possession of small quantities of illicit drugs, including crack cocaine, heroin, and meth, while stiffening penalties for dealing. The president's spokesman said that the law "allows better action and better coordination in the fight against drug dealing." However, Fox sent the legislation back, asking that the decriminalization be removed.

Employment

The border migration policy has become the centerpiece of Mexican foreign policy. He requested the U.S. create a Guest Worker Plan that according to Fox would provide increased security to the USA. "The best thing that can happen to both our countries is to have an orderly flow, a controlled flow, of migration to the United States."

Controversial comments

Notes

1. See Iberian naming customs for an explanation on the use of his name
2. http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/americas/09/01/mexico.protest.ap/index.html
3. http://estadis.eluniversal.com.mx/nacion/129217.html

See also

• List of national leaders

External links

• Template:Es icon Personal site
• Template:Es icon Office of the President of Mexico site
• Template:En icon CNN: Mexican leader criticized for comment on blacks

Template:Persondata

• Presidents of Mexico
• Mexican presidential candidates (2000)
• Current national leaders
• Governors of Guanajuato
• Members of the National Action Party (Mexico)
• Mexican federal deputies
• Ibero-American University alumni
• People from Mexico City
• Roman Catholic politicians
• Irish Mexicans
• Spanish Mexicans
• 1942 births
• Living people
• Pro-life politicians
• Same-sex marriage opposition