Felipe Calderón
Encyclopedia
Felipe de Jesús Calderón Hinojosa (feˈlipe kaldeˈɾon; born August 18, 1962) is the current President of Mexico
. He assumed office on December 1, 2006, and was elected for a single six-year term through 2012. He is a member of the Partido Acción Nacional
(PAN), one of the three major Mexican political parties.
He served in the cabinet of the previous administration before resigning to run for the Presidency and eventually securing his party's nomination. The Federal Electoral Institute's official electoral results giving Felipe Calderón the largest vote total and the presidency were contested by Andrés Manuel López Obrador
. Calderon's victory was confirmed on September 5, 2006 by the Federal Electoral Tribunal
.
Prior to the presidency, Calderón served as National President of the party, Federal Deputy
, and Secretary of Energy
in Vicente Fox
's cabinet
. In addition, Felipe Calderón is the president who has had the highest number of Mexicans killed due to his "drug war" policy which reported, in 2010, more than 30,000 casualties as "collateral damage" , the official presidency website, also states tha he has created the most universities (96) in the history of Mexico., but this fact is highly debatable, since prestigious Universities, such as the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) is short of funds as well as other regional Universities. He is also the only president in history that has granted full coverage and a secure spot in elementary schools to children from 6 to 11 years old. The Office of Social Aid for Victims of Violence, (in Spanish: Procuraduría Social para Víctimas de la Violencia) was created by him in 2011. During Calderón's administration, more than 1,000 hospitals have been created, and more than 2,000 have been reconstructed and amplified. During Vicente Fox
's administration, only 40 million people had access to a public health care system. Currently, more than 100 million Mexicans have access to their country's health care system
due to Calderón's effort on implementing a universal health care system. Moreover, Calderón has created more than 16,500 kilometers of interstate highways. Calderón also dispatched military forces all over Mexico
since the beginning of his presidency to put down the drug cartels
and the increasing violence generated by the criminal organizations, who fight with rival groups for territory.
Felipe Calderón was born in Michoacán
. He is the youngest of five brothers and son of Carmen Hinojosa Calderón and the late Luis Calderón Vega
.
His father was a co-founder of the National Action Party
and an important political figure. He occupied state posts and served a term as federal deputy
. Calderón spent most of his life working within the party and spent most of his free time promoting the PAN. The young Calderon was active in his father's campaigns. As a boy he distributed party pamphlets and flyers, rode PAN campaign vehicles and chanted slogans at rallies.
After growing up in Morelia, Calderón moved to Mexico City
, where he received a bachelor's degree in law from the Escuela Libre de Derecho
. Later, he received a master's degree in economics from the Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de México
(ITAM) and a Master of Public Administration
in 2000 from the John F. Kennedy School of Government
at Harvard University
.
Following his father's example, he joined the PAN. His father had quit in 1981.
It was in the National Action Party where Calderón met his wife, Margarita Zavala
, who served in Congress as a federal deputy. They have three children, María, Luis Felipe and Juan Pablo.
He was a local representative in the Legislative Assembly and, on two different occasions, in the federal Chamber of Deputies
. He ran for the governorship of Michoacán
in 1995 and served as national president of the PAN from 1996 to 1999. During his tenure, his party maintained control of 14 state capitals, but also faced a reduced presence in the federal Chamber of Deputies.
Soon after Vicente Fox
took office as president, Calderón was appointed director of Banobras
, a state-owned development bank. He was accused by political opponents of committing abuse, disputing use of certain legal procedures to finance property valued between three and five million Mexican Pesos (between US$300,000 and $500,000), however once political objections arose, he used other means to formalize his transaction.
He joined the presidential cabinet as Secretary of Energy, replacing Ernesto Martens
. He left the post in May 2004 in protest of Vicente Fox's criticism of his presidential ambitions while supporting those of Santiago Creel
.
Members of his party chose him as the PAN presidential candidate in a series of three primary elections, he defeated the favored former Secretary of the Interior
under President Vicente Fox
, and thus the election of Calderón as party candidate surprised many analysts. The PAN pointed to his competitive primary election as a sign of internal democracy. In other major parties, there was one candidate or they eliminated all srong candidates but one.
Calderón's campaign gained momentum after the first presidential debate. Subsequent poll numbers put him ahead of López Obrador from March to May; some polls favored him by as much as nine percentage points. This trend in his favor was contained after the second presidential debate when Lopez Obrador decided to start joining the debates. Final poll numbers days ahead of the results indicated that his opponents prior lead had shrunk further; some polls gave López Obrador the lead, while others favored Calderón and still others indicated a technical tie.
and other drugs for addicts who agree to undergo treatment; and has approved a right-to-die law that allows terminally ill patients to refuse invasive treatment or extraordinary efforts to prolong their lives. As for his economic policies, he supports balanced fiscal policies
, flat tax
es, lower taxes, and free trade
.
During his presidential campaign Calderón stated that the challenge was not between the political left or right, but a choice between the past and the future.
On July 2, 2006, the day of the election, the Federal Electoral Institute
(IFE) announced that the race was too close to call and chose not to make public a large and well-designed exit poll
. However, as the preliminary results of the unofficial PREP database made clear the next morning, Felipe Calderón had a small lead of 1.04%.
The IFE
called the candidates to abstain from pronouncing themselves as winner, president-elect, or president. Both candidates disobeyed this call. First López Obrador declared that he had won the election, and soon thereafter Calderón proclaimed victory as well, pointing to the initial figures released by the Federal Electoral Institute (IFE).
On July 6, 2006, the Federal Electoral Institute
announced the official vote count in the 2006 presidential election
, resulting in a narrow margin of 0.58% for Calderón over his closest contender, PRD
candidate Andrés Manuel López Obrador
. However, López Obrador and his coalition alleged irregularities in a number of polling stations and demanded a national recount. Ultimately, the Federal Electoral Tribunal, in a unanimous vote, declared such recount to be groundless and unfeasible and ordered a recount of those with supportable allegations, or about 9.07% of the 130,477 polling station
s.
On September 5, 2006, even when the Federal Electoral Tribunal acknowledged the existence of irregularities in the election, Calderón was, after the change of the votes of two of the magistrates, unanimously declared president-elect by the tribunal with a lead of 233,831 votes, or 0.56%, over López Obrador. The electoral court concluded that minor irregularities were insufficient without proof, and they were not enough to invalidate the election. The ruling was mandatory, final, and could not be appealed.
On December 1, 2006 despite the PRD's plans to prevent Calderón from taking office, the inauguration in front of Congress was able to proceed. Hours before Calderón's arrival, lawmakers from the PRD and PAN parties began a brawl, where several representatives threw punches and pushed, while others shouted at each other. PRD representatives shouted "Fuera Fox" ("out with President Fox") and blew whistles, while PAN representatives responded back with "Mexico, Mexico." Minutes before Calderón and Fox walked into Congress, the president of the Chamber of Deputies announced legal quorum, thus enabling Calderón to legally take the oath of office. At 9:45 am CST, all Mexican media cut to the official national broadcast, where commentators discussed the situation, and showed scenes inside the Palace of the Chamber of Deputies, Palacio de San Lázaro. At 9:50 am CST, Calderón entered the chamber through the back door of the palace and approached the podium, where he took the oath as required by the Constitution. After the anthem, opposition continued to yell in Spanish "Felipe will fall." PAN representatives shouted back, "Sí se pudo" (Yes it was possible to do).
At 10:00 am CST, the official broadcast ended, and most stations resumed their programming.
As the inaugural ceremony was transpiring in Congress, López Obrador led a rally of supporters in the Zócalo
. Many supporters marched down Reforma Avenue toward the Auditorio Nacional, where Calderón would address an audience of supporters after his inauguration. The rally was stopped by a wall erected by the Federal Police.
. The PRD opposition had threatened to not allow Calderón to take the oath of office and be inaugurated as president. Ahead of claims that the PRD would disrupt the precedings, the PAN took control of Congress's main floor three days before the inauguration was scheduled.
On November 30, 2006, outgoing President Vicente Fox Quesada
and still President-Elect Felipe Calderón Hinojosa stood side by side on national television as Fox turned over the presidential band to a cadet, who handed it to Calderón. Afterwards, Fox read a short speech indicating that he had concluded his mandate by receiving the flag "that had accompanied him during the last six years which he had devoted himself completely to the service of Mexico and had the utmost honor of being the president of the republic". Calderón then made a speech to the Mexican public indicating that he would still attend the inauguration ceremony at the Chamber of Deputies. He made a call to unity.
It is expected that Calderón will continue with the foreign policy started during Fox's term, known as the Castañeda Doctrine
, in abandonment of the Estrada Doctrine
. He has been expected to mediate with 'free market'
Latin American countries.
Calderón has been a proponent of the Meso-American Mesoamerican Integration and Development Project which is merged with another funding and infrastructure project, the Puebla-Panama Plan (PPP), started during the Fox administration. Calderón has expanded the PPP, now including Colombia, and an agreement of cooperation against organized crime. Jorge G. Castañeda, Secretary of Foreign Affairs
during the first half of Fox's administration and proponent of the "Castañeda Doctrine", has suggested that Calderón's leadership and the PPP should be used as a counter-part to Hugo Chávez
's leadership of left-wing policies in Latin America. Calderón has stated that "the challenge (of the PPP) is to foster democratic practices with solid foundation in the region".
Another landmark has been the proposed Mérida Initiative
, a security cooperation initiative between the United States and the government of Mexico and the countries of Central America, with the aim of combating the threats of drug trafficking and transnational crime.
Before meeting with President Bush in March 2007, Calderón openly expressed his disapproval of building a wall between the two nations. After the U.S. Senate rejected the Comprehensive immigration bill, President Calderon called the decision a "grave error".
and a cap on the salaries of public servants, described politically as "seeking to fulfill a campaign promise to incorporate the agenda of election rival Andrés Manuel López Obrador into his government".
rose dramatically throughout 2006, leading to the inflation of tortilla
prices in the first month of Calderón's term. Because tortillas are the main food product consumed by the country's poorest, national concerns over the rising prices immediately generated political pressure on Calderón's administration.
The president opted to use price ceilings
on tortillas that protected local consumers of corn. This price control came in the form of the Tortilla Price Stabilization Pact between the government and many of the main tortilla producing companies, including Grupo Maseca
and Bimbo
, to put a price ceiling at $8.50 pesos per kilogram of tortilla. The hope was that a ceiling on corn prices would provide incentive for the market to lower all prices nationally.
Critics argue that the pact was both nonbinding and a de facto acceptance of a 30% increase in the price of that product (from $5.95 pesos per kilogram to $8.50 pesos per kilogram). Many tortillerias ignored the agreement, leading to price increases well in excess of the $8.50. Government opposition sees this as an indication of the failure to protect the interests of its poor citizens.
However, several major supermarkets, such as Soriana
and Comercial Mexicana
, sell the tortillas at a lower price than the one in the agreement – as low as $5.10 pesos per kilogram – which is interpreted by liberals as evidence that price controls and the Tortilla Price Stabilization Pact were unnecessary. Additionally, PROFECO
, a consumer protection government organization, has also threatened with jail those tortilla producers who charge "excessive" prices.
Three months after the pact was signed, the Secretariat of Economy informed the public that the price of tortillas was reduced in most of the 53 main cities of Mexico. However, in 27 cities and 15 states, the price remained above the agreed $8.50 pesos. In Tijuana
, Morelia
, San Luis Potosí
, Ciudad Victoria
, and Nuevo Laredo
, the price of tortillas had risen despite the fact that the average price of corn has dropped from $3,500 pesos per ton
to $2,500 pesos per ton. However, the director of the Maize Industry Council has defended the pact by minimizing the price increments in those cities, claiming that the pact was only intended for the Valley of Mexico
, and not the whole country.
Guillermo Ortiz, governor of the Bank of Mexico
, labeled the agreement "a success" for consumers and urged for it to continue as means to combat rising inflation.
The program has been interpreted as an effort to stop immigration into the United States.
Reactions to this program have been mixed. The president of the Mexican Association of Directors in Human Relations, Luis García, has anticipated a positive effect and even showed Nextel
's subsidiary in Mexico as an example for hiring 14% of its new workforce in 2006 as people in their "first employment". Meanwhile, Secretary of Labor
Javier Lozano Alarcón
has admitted that the program will be insufficient to create as many new jobs as needed and has called for deeper reforms to allow for further investment.
, the decree will affect 546 high-level government officials and save the government about US$13 million. The opposition has stated that the 10% reduction in salary as not being comprehensive enough.
Calderón later launched a proposal for a constitutional amendment that, if passed, would significantly lower salaries for all public servants in all three branches of government and impose a cap on compensation. The proposal also includes measures to make the remuneration of public servants more transparent and subject to fiscalization.
Despite imposing a cap on salaries of high-ranking public servants, Calderón ordered a raise on the salaries of the Federal Police and the Mexican armed forces on his first day as president.
Calderón's government also ordered massive raids on drug cartels upon assuming office in December 2006 in response to an increasingly deadly spate of violence in his home state of Michoacán. The decision to intensify drug enforcement operations has led to an ongoing conflict
between the federal government and the Mexican drug cartels.
On January 19, 2007, Mexico captured the leader of one of its seven major drug cartels, the Diaz Parada gang, five weeks into an army crackdown on narco gangs. Mexican soldiers and federal police jointly arrested Pedro Diaz Parada, whose cartel has operated across southern Mexico, on Tuesday in the southern city of Oaxaca, a spokeswoman for the attorney general's office said.
The next day, in a controversial move, the government announced the extradition to the United States of several drug gang leaders.
The Mexican government has also ordered Mexican soldiers and Federal Police into several cities, most notably, Tijuana
and Ciudad Juárez
. In Tijuana and also Ciudad Juárez, the army ordered that all local police officers surrender their weapons, as it is suspected that many officers have ties with drug cartels. Other states where actions have been taken include Michoacán
, Tamaulipas
, Tabasco
, and Guerrero
.
In a January 2007 interview with the Financial Times
, Calderón said, "We have received very encouraging results. In the state of Michoacán, for example, the murder rate has fallen almost 40 percent compared with the average over the last six months. People's support in the regions where we are operating has grown, and that has been very important. Opinion polls have confirmed that, and I think we have made it clear to everyone that this issue is a priority for us".
On April 9, 2007, the Secretariat of Defense
announced in a report the results of the first four months of Calderón's presidency. These results include the capture of 1,102 drug dealers, the seizure of about $500 million pesos
, 556 kilograms of marijuana, 1,419 military grade weapons, two airplanes, 630 automobiles, and 15 sea ships that transported drugs, and the destruction of 285 clandestine runways, 777 drug camps, 52,842 marijuana farms and 33,019 opium poppy
farms. The report claims that these results stopped the distribution of 1,428,124 doses of marijuana, 17,728,000 doses of cocaine
, 193,922,000 doses of heroin, and 6,996,000 toxic pills, stopping the intoxication of 647,771,000 people, a lot of them with irreversible damage to their health.
On December 16, 2009, the Mexican Navy killed Arturo Beltran-Leyva, a once important drug trafficker.
The government is relatively successful in detaining drug lords; however, drug-related violence remains high in contested area along the US border such as Ciudad Juárez, Tijuana, and Matamoros. Some analysts, like US Ambassador in Mexico Carlos Pascual argue that this raise in violence may be a direct result of Felipe Calderón's military measures. Although homicide rates in Mexico from 2000–2007 showed a general decline, now Mexico is considered to be among the top ten countries with the highest homicide rates. Since Calderón launched his military strategy against organized crime in 2006, there has been an alarming increase in violent deaths related to organized crime, "more than 15,000 people have died in suspected drug attacks since it was launched at the end of 2006." More than 5,000 people were murdered in Mexico in 2008, 2009 was the most violent year with 9,600 people murdered and the murder rates are expected to be higher in 2010.
According to a poll by Grupo Reforma
taken from February 16 to February 18, 2007, Calderón's approval rating was 58%. In this poll, Mexicans interviewed give President Calderón and his actions a score of 6.6 out of 10. He is best rated in his actions on issues related to health and reducing drug trafficking (60% and 59% approval respectively), and worst rated on domestic and foreign policy (33% approval each).
A poll by Ipsos-Bimsa shows a change in Calderon's approval rating at 57% in November 2007.
In June 2008, Calderon's approval rating jumped to 64% before slipping to 62% in September.
According to a March 2010 poll by GEA-ISA. 45% of respondents approved of their president's performance, down seven points since November 2009 polling at 52%.
Polling firm Buendia & Laredo released a survey showing President Calderón's approval rating at 54% on May 9, 2011.
Order of the Quetzal
, Collar, awarded by the President of Guatemala
Álvaro Colom
on his state visit to Mexico, July 27, 2011.
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President of Mexico
The President of the United Mexican States is the head of state and government of Mexico. Under the Constitution, the president is also the Supreme Commander of the Mexican armed forces...
. He assumed office on December 1, 2006, and was elected for a single six-year term through 2012. He is a member of the Partido Acción Nacional
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...
(PAN), one of the three major Mexican political parties.
He served in the cabinet of the previous administration before resigning to run for the Presidency and eventually securing his party's nomination. The Federal Electoral Institute's official electoral results giving Felipe Calderón the largest vote total and the presidency were contested by Andrés Manuel López Obrador
Andrés Manuel López Obrador
Andrés Manuel López Obrador , also known as AMLO or El Peje, is a Mexican politician who held the position of Head of Government of the Federal District from 2000 to 2005, before resigning in July 2005 to contend the 2006 presidential election, representing the unsuccessful Coalition for the Good...
. Calderon's victory was confirmed on September 5, 2006 by the Federal Electoral Tribunal
Federal Electoral Tribunal
The Electoral Tribunal of the Federal Judiciary is a venue within the judiciary of Mexico that specialises in electoral matters. Among its functions are resolving disputes arising within federal elections and certifying the validity of those elections, including those of the President of the...
.
Prior to the presidency, Calderón served as National President of the party, Federal Deputy
Chamber of Deputies
Chamber of deputies is the name given to a legislative body such as the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or can refer to a unicameral legislature.-Description:...
, and Secretary of Energy
Secretary of Energy (Mexico)
The Secretariat of Energy is the government department in charge of energy production and regulation in Mexico. The Secretary of Energy is a member of the Executive Cabinet. The current Secretary of Energy is Georgina Kessel.-External links:...
in Vicente Fox
Vicente Fox
Vicente Fox Quesada is a Mexican 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...
's cabinet
Mexican Executive Cabinet
The cabinet of Mexico is the Executive Cabinet and is a part of the executive branch of the Mexican government. It consists of eighteen Secretaries of State, the head of the federal executive legal office and the Attorney General....
. In addition, Felipe Calderón is the president who has had the highest number of Mexicans killed due to his "drug war" policy which reported, in 2010, more than 30,000 casualties as "collateral damage" , the official presidency website, also states tha he has created the most universities (96) in the history of Mexico., but this fact is highly debatable, since prestigious Universities, such as the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) is short of funds as well as other regional Universities. He is also the only president in history that has granted full coverage and a secure spot in elementary schools to children from 6 to 11 years old. The Office of Social Aid for Victims of Violence, (in Spanish: Procuraduría Social para Víctimas de la Violencia) was created by him in 2011. During Calderón's administration, more than 1,000 hospitals have been created, and more than 2,000 have been reconstructed and amplified. During Vicente Fox
Vicente Fox
Vicente Fox Quesada is a Mexican 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...
's administration, only 40 million people had access to a public health care system. Currently, more than 100 million Mexicans have access to their country's health care system
Health care in Mexico
Health care in Mexico is provided via public institutions, private entities, or private physicians. Health care delivered through private health care organizations operates entirely on the free-market system, i.e., it is available to those who can afford it. This is also the case of health care...
due to Calderón's effort on implementing a universal health care system. Moreover, Calderón has created more than 16,500 kilometers of interstate highways. Calderón also dispatched military forces all over Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
since the beginning of his presidency to put down the drug cartels
Mexican Drug War
The Mexican Drug War is an ongoing armed conflict taking place among rival drug cartels who fight each other for regional control, and Mexican government forces who seek to combat drug trafficking. However, the government's principal goal has been to put down the drug-related violence that was...
and the increasing violence generated by the criminal organizations, who fight with rival groups for territory.
Background and family life
Michoacán
Michoacán officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Michoacán de Ocampo is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 113 municipalities and its capital city is Morelia...
. He is the youngest of five brothers and son of Carmen Hinojosa Calderón and the late Luis Calderón Vega
Luis Calderón Vega
Luis Calderón Vega was a Mexican politician and writer. Along with other leading opposition politicians, he was one of the founders of the National Action Party in 1939....
.
His father was a co-founder of the National Action Party
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...
and an important political figure. He occupied state posts and served a term as federal deputy
Congress of Mexico
The Congress of the Union is the legislative branch of the Mexican government...
. Calderón spent most of his life working within the party and spent most of his free time promoting the PAN. The young Calderon was active in his father's campaigns. As a boy he distributed party pamphlets and flyers, rode PAN campaign vehicles and chanted slogans at rallies.
After growing up in Morelia, Calderón moved to Mexico City
Mexico City
Mexico City is the Federal District , capital of Mexico and seat of the federal powers of the Mexican Union. It is a federal entity within Mexico which is not part of any one of the 31 Mexican states but belongs to the federation as a whole...
, where he received a bachelor's degree in law from the Escuela Libre de Derecho
Escuela Libre de Derecho
Escuela Libre de Derecho is a prestigious law school in Mexico. Founded in 1912, it has among its alumni some of the most distinguished Mexican attorneys...
. Later, he received a master's degree in economics from the Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de México
Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de México
The Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de México , commonly known as ITAM, is a private Ph.D.-granting research university located in Mexico City, Mexico...
(ITAM) and a Master of Public Administration
Master of Public Administration
The Master of Public Administration is a professional post-graduate degree in Public Administration. The MPA program prepares individuals to serve as managers in the executive arm of local, state/provincial, and federal/national government, and increasingly in nongovernmental organization and...
in 2000 from the John F. Kennedy School of Government
John F. Kennedy School of Government
The John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University is a public policy and public administration school, and one of Harvard's graduate and professional schools...
at Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
.
Following his father's example, he joined the PAN. His father had quit in 1981.
It was in the National Action Party where Calderón met his wife, Margarita Zavala
Margarita Zavala
Margarita Zavala is the wife of Mexican President Felipe Calderón. She was a PAN deputy in 2006 in the LIX Legislature of the Mexican Congress.- Early life and personal life :...
, who served in Congress as a federal deputy. They have three children, María, Luis Felipe and Juan Pablo.
Political career
Calderón was president of the PAN's youth movement in his early twenties.He was a local representative in the Legislative Assembly and, on two different occasions, in the federal Chamber of Deputies
Chamber of Deputies of Mexico
The Chamber of Deputies is the lower house of the Congress of the Union, Mexico's bicameral legislature. The structure and responsibilities of both chambers of Congress are defined in Articles 50 to 70 of the current constitution.-Composition:The Chamber of Deputies is composed of one federal...
. He ran for the governorship of Michoacán
Michoacán
Michoacán officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Michoacán de Ocampo is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 113 municipalities and its capital city is Morelia...
in 1995 and served as national president of the PAN from 1996 to 1999. During his tenure, his party maintained control of 14 state capitals, but also faced a reduced presence in the federal Chamber of Deputies.
Soon after Vicente Fox
Vicente Fox
Vicente Fox Quesada is a Mexican 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...
took office as president, Calderón was appointed director of Banobras
Banobras
Banco Nacional de Obras y Servicios Públicos, SNC or Banobras is state owned development bank in Mexico. Its core business is sub national and project finance...
, a state-owned development bank. He was accused by political opponents of committing abuse, disputing use of certain legal procedures to finance property valued between three and five million Mexican Pesos (between US$300,000 and $500,000), however once political objections arose, he used other means to formalize his transaction.
He joined the presidential cabinet as Secretary of Energy, replacing Ernesto Martens
Ernesto Martens
Ernesto Martens Rebolledo is a Mexican chemical engineer, who has occupied several high-profile business positions and was Secretary of Energy during Vicente Fox's government....
. He left the post in May 2004 in protest of Vicente Fox's criticism of his presidential ambitions while supporting those of Santiago Creel
Santiago Creel
Santiago Creel Miranda is a Mexican senator representing the right-of-center National Action Party who served as Secretary of the Interior in the cabinet of President Vicente Fox....
.
Members of his party chose him as the PAN presidential candidate in a series of three primary elections, he defeated the favored former Secretary of the Interior
Secretary of the Interior (Mexico)
The Mexican Secretary of the Interior is the head of the Secretariat of the Interior, concerned with the country's internal affairs, the presentation of the president's bills to Congress, their publication and certain issues of national security. The country's main intelligence agency, CISEN,...
under President Vicente Fox
Vicente Fox
Vicente Fox Quesada is a Mexican 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...
, and thus the election of Calderón as party candidate surprised many analysts. The PAN pointed to his competitive primary election as a sign of internal democracy. In other major parties, there was one candidate or they eliminated all srong candidates but one.
Calderón's campaign gained momentum after the first presidential debate. Subsequent poll numbers put him ahead of López Obrador from March to May; some polls favored him by as much as nine percentage points. This trend in his favor was contained after the second presidential debate when Lopez Obrador decided to start joining the debates. Final poll numbers days ahead of the results indicated that his opponents prior lead had shrunk further; some polls gave López Obrador the lead, while others favored Calderón and still others indicated a technical tie.
Political and social views
Calderon is Roman Catholic, and responded to demands for detailed revelation of his personal positions on abortion that he voted for life. He supports Mexican legislation guaranteeing abortion for rape victims, when pregnancy endangers a woman's life or in cases of severe fetal deformity; has publicly advocated the legalization of small quantities of cocaineCocaine
Cocaine is a crystalline tropane alkaloid that is obtained from the leaves of the coca plant. The name comes from "coca" in addition to the alkaloid suffix -ine, forming cocaine. It is a stimulant of the central nervous system, an appetite suppressant, and a topical anesthetic...
and other drugs for addicts who agree to undergo treatment; and has approved a right-to-die law that allows terminally ill patients to refuse invasive treatment or extraordinary efforts to prolong their lives. As for his economic policies, he supports balanced fiscal policies
Fiscal policy
In economics and political science, fiscal policy is the use of government expenditure and revenue collection to influence the economy....
, flat tax
Flat tax
A flat tax is a tax system with a constant marginal tax rate. Typically the term flat tax is applied in the context of an individual or corporate income that will be taxed at one marginal rate...
es, lower taxes, and free trade
Free trade
Under a free trade policy, prices emerge from supply and demand, and are the sole determinant of resource allocation. 'Free' trade differs from other forms of trade policy where the allocation of goods and services among trading countries are determined by price strategies that may differ from...
.
During his presidential campaign Calderón stated that the challenge was not between the political left or right, but a choice between the past and the future.
Post-election controversy
Federal Electoral Institute
The Federal Electoral Institute is an autonomous, public organization responsible for organizing federal elections in Mexico, that is, those related to the election of the President of the United Mexican States and to the election of the members of the Lower and Upper Chambers that constitute the ...
(IFE) announced that the race was too close to call and chose not to make public a large and well-designed exit poll
Exit poll
An election exit poll is a poll of voters taken immediately after they have exited the polling stations. Unlike an opinion poll, which asks whom the voter plans to vote for or some similar formulation, an exit poll asks whom the voter actually voted for. A similar poll conducted before actual...
. However, as the preliminary results of the unofficial PREP database made clear the next morning, Felipe Calderón had a small lead of 1.04%.
The IFE
Ife
Ife is an ancient Yoruba city in south-western Nigeria. Evidence of inhabitation at the site has been discovered to date back to roughly 560 BC...
called the candidates to abstain from pronouncing themselves as winner, president-elect, or president. Both candidates disobeyed this call. First López Obrador declared that he had won the election, and soon thereafter Calderón proclaimed victory as well, pointing to the initial figures released by the Federal Electoral Institute (IFE).
On July 6, 2006, the Federal Electoral Institute
Federal Electoral Institute
The Federal Electoral Institute is an autonomous, public organization responsible for organizing federal elections in Mexico, that is, those related to the election of the President of the United Mexican States and to the election of the members of the Lower and Upper Chambers that constitute the ...
announced the official vote count in the 2006 presidential election
Mexican general election, 2006
A general election was held in Mexico on Sunday, July 2, 2006. Voters went to the polls to elect, on the federal level:*A new President of the Republic to serve a six-year term, replacing then Mexican President Vicente Fox .*500 members to serve for a...
, resulting in a narrow margin of 0.58% for Calderón over his closest contender, PRD
Party of the Democratic Revolution
The Party of the Democratic Revolution is a democratic socialist party in Mexico and one of 2 Mexican affiliates of the Socialist International...
candidate Andrés Manuel López Obrador
Andrés Manuel López Obrador
Andrés Manuel López Obrador , also known as AMLO or El Peje, is a Mexican politician who held the position of Head of Government of the Federal District from 2000 to 2005, before resigning in July 2005 to contend the 2006 presidential election, representing the unsuccessful Coalition for the Good...
. However, López Obrador and his coalition alleged irregularities in a number of polling stations and demanded a national recount. Ultimately, the Federal Electoral Tribunal, in a unanimous vote, declared such recount to be groundless and unfeasible and ordered a recount of those with supportable allegations, or about 9.07% of the 130,477 polling station
Polling station
A polling place or polling station is where voters cast their ballots in elections.Since elections generally take place over a one- or two-day span on a periodic basis, often annual or longer, polling places are often located in facilities used for other purposes, such as schools, churches, sports...
s.
On September 5, 2006, even when the Federal Electoral Tribunal acknowledged the existence of irregularities in the election, Calderón was, after the change of the votes of two of the magistrates, unanimously declared president-elect by the tribunal with a lead of 233,831 votes, or 0.56%, over López Obrador. The electoral court concluded that minor irregularities were insufficient without proof, and they were not enough to invalidate the election. The ruling was mandatory, final, and could not be appealed.
On December 1, 2006 despite the PRD's plans to prevent Calderón from taking office, the inauguration in front of Congress was able to proceed. Hours before Calderón's arrival, lawmakers from the PRD and PAN parties began a brawl, where several representatives threw punches and pushed, while others shouted at each other. PRD representatives shouted "Fuera Fox" ("out with President Fox") and blew whistles, while PAN representatives responded back with "Mexico, Mexico." Minutes before Calderón and Fox walked into Congress, the president of the Chamber of Deputies announced legal quorum, thus enabling Calderón to legally take the oath of office. At 9:45 am CST, all Mexican media cut to the official national broadcast, where commentators discussed the situation, and showed scenes inside the Palace of the Chamber of Deputies, Palacio de San Lázaro. At 9:50 am CST, Calderón entered the chamber through the back door of the palace and approached the podium, where he took the oath as required by the Constitution. After the anthem, opposition continued to yell in Spanish "Felipe will fall." PAN representatives shouted back, "Sí se pudo" (Yes it was possible to do).
At 10:00 am CST, the official broadcast ended, and most stations resumed their programming.
As the inaugural ceremony was transpiring in Congress, López Obrador led a rally of supporters in the Zócalo
Zócalo
The Zócalo is the main plaza or square in the heart of the historic center of Mexico City. The plaza used to be known simply as the "Main Square" or "Arms Square," and today its formal name is Plaza de la Constitución...
. Many supporters marched down Reforma Avenue toward the Auditorio Nacional, where Calderón would address an audience of supporters after his inauguration. The rally was stopped by a wall erected by the Federal Police.
Presidency
The Mexican Constitution states that the President must be inaugurated by taking the oath of office before Congress in the lower house, the Chamber of DeputiesChamber of Deputies of Mexico
The Chamber of Deputies is the lower house of the Congress of the Union, Mexico's bicameral legislature. The structure and responsibilities of both chambers of Congress are defined in Articles 50 to 70 of the current constitution.-Composition:The Chamber of Deputies is composed of one federal...
. The PRD opposition had threatened to not allow Calderón to take the oath of office and be inaugurated as president. Ahead of claims that the PRD would disrupt the precedings, the PAN took control of Congress's main floor three days before the inauguration was scheduled.
On November 30, 2006, outgoing President Vicente Fox Quesada
Vicente Fox
Vicente Fox Quesada is a Mexican 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...
and still President-Elect Felipe Calderón Hinojosa stood side by side on national television as Fox turned over the presidential band to a cadet, who handed it to Calderón. Afterwards, Fox read a short speech indicating that he had concluded his mandate by receiving the flag "that had accompanied him during the last six years which he had devoted himself completely to the service of Mexico and had the utmost honor of being the president of the republic". Calderón then made a speech to the Mexican public indicating that he would still attend the inauguration ceremony at the Chamber of Deputies. He made a call to unity.
Foreign policy
Castañeda Doctrine
The Castañeda Doctrine is a term used as reference to Mexico's foreign policy during the presidency of Vicente Fox. Its name derives from Jorge G. Castañeda, proponent of the policy....
, in abandonment of the Estrada Doctrine
Estrada Doctrine
The Estrada Doctrine is the name of Mexico's core foreign policy ideal from 1930 to the early 2000s. Its name derives from Genaro Estrada, Secretary of Foreign Affairs during the presidency of Pascual Ortiz Rubio ....
. He has been expected to mediate with 'free market'
Economic liberalism
Economic liberalism is the ideological belief in giving all people economic freedom, and as such granting people with more basis to control their own lives and make their own mistakes. It is an economic philosophy that supports and promotes individual liberty and choice in economic matters and...
Latin American countries.
Calderón has been a proponent of the Meso-American Mesoamerican Integration and Development Project which is merged with another funding and infrastructure project, the Puebla-Panama Plan (PPP), started during the Fox administration. Calderón has expanded the PPP, now including Colombia, and an agreement of cooperation against organized crime. Jorge G. Castañeda, Secretary of Foreign Affairs
Secretary of Foreign Affairs (Mexico)
In Mexico, the Secretary of Foreign Affairs is a member of the federal executive cabinet with responsibility for implementing the country's foreign policy. The secretary is appointed by the President of the Republic and heads the Secretariat of Foreign Affairs ...
during the first half of Fox's administration and proponent of the "Castañeda Doctrine", has suggested that Calderón's leadership and the PPP should be used as a counter-part to Hugo Chávez
Hugo Chávez
Hugo Rafael Chávez Frías is the 56th and current President of Venezuela, having held that position since 1999. He was formerly the leader of the Fifth Republic Movement political party from its foundation in 1997 until 2007, when he became the leader of the United Socialist Party of Venezuela...
's leadership of left-wing policies in Latin America. Calderón has stated that "the challenge (of the PPP) is to foster democratic practices with solid foundation in the region".
Another landmark has been the proposed Mérida Initiative
Mérida Initiative
The Mérida Initiative is a security cooperation agreement between the United States and the government of Mexico and the countries of Central America, with the declared aim of combating the threats of drug trafficking, transnational organized crime and money laundering...
, a security cooperation initiative between the United States and the government of Mexico and the countries of Central America, with the aim of combating the threats of drug trafficking and transnational crime.
Immigration reform
Felipe Calderón made immigration reform one of his main priorities and in 2008 he and the Mexican Congress passed a bill decriminalizing undocumented immigration into Mexico. He expressed his hopes that something be done to clear up the status of undocumented Mexican immigrants in the US.Before meeting with President Bush in March 2007, Calderón openly expressed his disapproval of building a wall between the two nations. After the U.S. Senate rejected the Comprehensive immigration bill, President Calderon called the decision a "grave error".
Domestic policy
During the first months of government, President Calderón took several actions, such as introducing the Tortilla Price Stabilization PactTortilla Price Stabilization Pact
The Tortilla Price Stabilization Pact was an agreement between the Mexican Federal Government, headed by President Felipe Calderón, and several tortilla producing companies in Mexico to limit the volatility of price in tortillas in early 2007.-Background:...
and a cap on the salaries of public servants, described politically as "seeking to fulfill a campaign promise to incorporate the agenda of election rival Andrés Manuel López Obrador into his government".
Tortilla Price Stabilization Pact
The international price of cornMaize
Maize known in many English-speaking countries as corn or mielie/mealie, is a grain domesticated by indigenous peoples in Mesoamerica in prehistoric times. The leafy stalk produces ears which contain seeds called kernels. Though technically a grain, maize kernels are used in cooking as a vegetable...
rose dramatically throughout 2006, leading to the inflation of tortilla
Tortilla
In Mexico and Central America, a tortilla is a type of thin, unleavened flat bread, made from finely ground maize...
prices in the first month of Calderón's term. Because tortillas are the main food product consumed by the country's poorest, national concerns over the rising prices immediately generated political pressure on Calderón's administration.
The president opted to use price ceilings
Incomes policy
Incomes policies in economics are economy-wide wage and price controls, most commonly instituted as a response to inflation, and usually below market level.Incomes policies have often been resorted to during wartime...
on tortillas that protected local consumers of corn. This price control came in the form of the Tortilla Price Stabilization Pact between the government and many of the main tortilla producing companies, including Grupo Maseca
Gruma
Gruma is the largest manufacturer of corn flour and tortillas in the world. Its brand names include Mission , Maseca, and Guerrero. Founded in 1949 as "Molinos Azteca, S.A.", the company is now based in Monterrey, Mexico and has subsidiaries in the United States, China, England, Central America,...
and Bimbo
Grupo Bimbo
Grupo Bimbo is the largest Mexican food company and the largest bakery in the world with brands in Americas, Europe, and China.-History:Grupo Bimbo was established in Mexico in 1945 by Lorenzo Servitje, Jose T. Mata, Jaime Sendra, and Jaime Jorba...
, to put a price ceiling at $8.50 pesos per kilogram of tortilla. The hope was that a ceiling on corn prices would provide incentive for the market to lower all prices nationally.
Critics argue that the pact was both nonbinding and a de facto acceptance of a 30% increase in the price of that product (from $5.95 pesos per kilogram to $8.50 pesos per kilogram). Many tortillerias ignored the agreement, leading to price increases well in excess of the $8.50. Government opposition sees this as an indication of the failure to protect the interests of its poor citizens.
However, several major supermarkets, such as Soriana
Soriana
Organización Soriana is a Mexican public company and Mexico's largest retailer. Soriana is a grocery and department store retail chain headquartered in Monterrey, Nuevo León, Mexico. The company is 100% capitalized in Mexico and is publicly traded on the Mexican stock exchange the Bolsa Mexicana...
and Comercial Mexicana
Comercial Mexicana
Comercial Mexicana is a Mexican hypermarket group, which features stores similar to those owned by Carrefour in France or Wal-Mart in the United States...
, sell the tortillas at a lower price than the one in the agreement – as low as $5.10 pesos per kilogram – which is interpreted by liberals as evidence that price controls and the Tortilla Price Stabilization Pact were unnecessary. Additionally, PROFECO
PROFECO
The Procuraduría Federal del Consumidor, or Office of the Federal Prosecutor for the Consumer is an organization of the Mexican government, dependent of the Attorney General, designed to protect consumers against abuses or fraud by companies operating in Mexico.Mexico became the second Latin...
, a consumer protection government organization, has also threatened with jail those tortilla producers who charge "excessive" prices.
Three months after the pact was signed, the Secretariat of Economy informed the public that the price of tortillas was reduced in most of the 53 main cities of Mexico. However, in 27 cities and 15 states, the price remained above the agreed $8.50 pesos. In Tijuana
Tijuana
Tijuana is the largest city on the Baja California Peninsula and center of the Tijuana metropolitan area, part of the international San Diego–Tijuana metropolitan area. An industrial and financial center of Mexico, Tijuana exerts a strong influence on economics, education, culture, art, and politics...
, Morelia
Morelia
Morelia is a city and municipality in the north central part of the state of Michoacán in central Mexico. The city is in the Guayangareo Valley and is the capital of the state. The main pre-Hispanic cultures here were the P'urhépecha and the Matlatzinca, but no major cities were founded in the...
, San Luis Potosí
San Luis Potosí, San Luis Potosí
San Luis Potosí, commonly called SLP or simply San Luis, is the capital of, and most populous city in the Mexican state of the same name. The city lies at an elevation of 1,850 meters...
, Ciudad Victoria
Ciudad Victoria
Ciudad Victoria , is the capital city of the Mexican state ofTamaulipas. It is located in the western-central region of the state. Ciudad Victoria is also the municipal seat of the surrounding Victoria Municipality, which covers an area of 1,638 km²...
, and Nuevo Laredo
Nuevo Laredo
Nuevo Laredo is a city located in the Municipality of Nuevo Laredo in the Mexican state of Tamaulipas. The city lies on the banks of the Río Grande, across from the United States city of Laredo, Texas. The 2010 census population of the city was 373,725. Nuevo Laredo is part of the Laredo-Nuevo...
, the price of tortillas had risen despite the fact that the average price of corn has dropped from $3,500 pesos per ton
Tonne
The tonne, known as the metric ton in the US , often put pleonastically as "metric tonne" to avoid confusion with ton, is a metric system unit of mass equal to 1000 kilograms. The tonne is not an International System of Units unit, but is accepted for use with the SI...
to $2,500 pesos per ton. However, the director of the Maize Industry Council has defended the pact by minimizing the price increments in those cities, claiming that the pact was only intended for the Valley of Mexico
Greater Mexico City
Greater Mexico City refers to the conurbation around Mexico City, officially called Mexico City Metropolitan Area , constituted by the Federal District—itself composed of 16 boroughs—and 41 adjacent municipalities of the states of Mexico and Hidalgo...
, and not the whole country.
Guillermo Ortiz, governor of the Bank of Mexico
Banco de México
The Bank of Mexico , abbreviated BdeM or Banxico, is Mexico's central bank and lender of last resort. The Bank of Mexico is autonomous in exercising its functions, and its main objective is to achieve stability in the purchasing power of the national currency.On December 15, 2009, Agustín Carstens...
, labeled the agreement "a success" for consumers and urged for it to continue as means to combat rising inflation.
First Employment Program
Fulfilling an electoral promise, President Calderón launched the First Employment Program, which aims to create new opportunities for people entering the job market. The program will give cash incentives to companies for hiring first-time job holders, including young people graduating from higher education and millions of women who have never worked.The program has been interpreted as an effort to stop immigration into the United States.
Reactions to this program have been mixed. The president of the Mexican Association of Directors in Human Relations, Luis García, has anticipated a positive effect and even showed Nextel
Sprint Nextel
Sprint Nextel Corporation is an American telecommunications company based in Overland Park, Kansas. The company owns and operates Sprint, the third largest wireless telecommunications network in the United States, with 53.4 million customers, behind Verizon Wireless and AT&T Mobility...
's subsidiary in Mexico as an example for hiring 14% of its new workforce in 2006 as people in their "first employment". Meanwhile, Secretary of Labor
Secretary of Labor (Mexico)
In Mexico, the Secretary of Labor and Social Welfare is the head of the Secretariat of Labor and Social Welfare , a department of the federal government. The Secretary is a member of the federal executive cabinet.The current Secretary of Labor is Javier Lozano Alarcón ....
Javier Lozano Alarcón
Javier Lozano Alarcón
Javier Lozano Alarcón is a Mexican politician who serves as Secretary of Labor in the cabinet of President Felipe Calderón.He was telecoms consultant....
has admitted that the program will be insufficient to create as many new jobs as needed and has called for deeper reforms to allow for further investment.
Public servants salary cap
President Calderón announced, on his first day as president, a presidential decree limiting the president's salary and that of cabinet ministers. The measure only affects a few high-ranking officials, but excludes most of the bureaucracy and public servants in the legislative or judicial branches. According to a Freedom of Information Act request filed by ReformaGrupo Reforma
Grupo Reforma is the largest printed media company in Mexico and Latin America. It publishes ten daily newspapers in five cities, including the leading newspapers in Mexico's three largest cities: Reforma in Mexico City, El Norte in Monterrey and Mural in Guadalajara...
, the decree will affect 546 high-level government officials and save the government about US$13 million. The opposition has stated that the 10% reduction in salary as not being comprehensive enough.
Calderón later launched a proposal for a constitutional amendment that, if passed, would significantly lower salaries for all public servants in all three branches of government and impose a cap on compensation. The proposal also includes measures to make the remuneration of public servants more transparent and subject to fiscalization.
Security policy
Calderón's government also ordered massive raids on drug cartels upon assuming office in December 2006 in response to an increasingly deadly spate of violence in his home state of Michoacán. The decision to intensify drug enforcement operations has led to an ongoing conflict
Mexican Drug War
The Mexican Drug War is an ongoing armed conflict taking place among rival drug cartels who fight each other for regional control, and Mexican government forces who seek to combat drug trafficking. However, the government's principal goal has been to put down the drug-related violence that was...
between the federal government and the Mexican drug cartels.
On January 19, 2007, Mexico captured the leader of one of its seven major drug cartels, the Diaz Parada gang, five weeks into an army crackdown on narco gangs. Mexican soldiers and federal police jointly arrested Pedro Diaz Parada, whose cartel has operated across southern Mexico, on Tuesday in the southern city of Oaxaca, a spokeswoman for the attorney general's office said.
The next day, in a controversial move, the government announced the extradition to the United States of several drug gang leaders.
The Mexican government has also ordered Mexican soldiers and Federal Police into several cities, most notably, Tijuana
Tijuana
Tijuana is the largest city on the Baja California Peninsula and center of the Tijuana metropolitan area, part of the international San Diego–Tijuana metropolitan area. An industrial and financial center of Mexico, Tijuana exerts a strong influence on economics, education, culture, art, and politics...
and Ciudad Juárez
Ciudad Juárez
Ciudad Juárez , officially known today as Heroica Ciudad Juárez, but abbreviated Juárez and formerly known as El Paso del Norte, is a city and seat of the municipality of Juárez in the Mexican state of Chihuahua. Juárez's estimated population is 1.5 million people. The city lies on the Rio Grande...
. In Tijuana and also Ciudad Juárez, the army ordered that all local police officers surrender their weapons, as it is suspected that many officers have ties with drug cartels. Other states where actions have been taken include Michoacán
Michoacán
Michoacán officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Michoacán de Ocampo is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 113 municipalities and its capital city is Morelia...
, Tamaulipas
Tamaulipas
Tamaulipas officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Tamaulipas is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 43 municipalities and its capital city is Ciudad Victoria. The capital city was named after Guadalupe Victoria, the...
, Tabasco
Tabasco
Tabasco officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Tabasco is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 17 municipalities and its capital city is Villahermosa....
, and Guerrero
Guerrero
Guerrero officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Guerrero is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 81 municipalities and its capital city is Chilpancingo....
.
In a January 2007 interview with the Financial Times
Financial Times
The Financial Times is an international business newspaper. It is a morning daily newspaper published in London and printed in 24 cities around the world. Its primary rival is the Wall Street Journal, published in New York City....
, Calderón said, "We have received very encouraging results. In the state of Michoacán, for example, the murder rate has fallen almost 40 percent compared with the average over the last six months. People's support in the regions where we are operating has grown, and that has been very important. Opinion polls have confirmed that, and I think we have made it clear to everyone that this issue is a priority for us".
On April 9, 2007, the Secretariat of Defense
Secretariat of National Defense (Mexico)
Mexico's Secretariat of National Defense is the government department responsible for managing Mexico's Army and Air Forces. Its head is the Secretary of National Defense who, like the co-equal Secretary of the Navy, reports directly to the President...
announced in a report the results of the first four months of Calderón's presidency. These results include the capture of 1,102 drug dealers, the seizure of about $500 million pesos
Mexican peso
The peso is the currency of Mexico. Modern peso and dollar currencies have a common origin in the 15th–19th century Spanish dollar, most continuing to use its sign, "$". The Mexican peso is the 12th most traded currency in the world, the third most traded in the Americas, and by far the most...
, 556 kilograms of marijuana, 1,419 military grade weapons, two airplanes, 630 automobiles, and 15 sea ships that transported drugs, and the destruction of 285 clandestine runways, 777 drug camps, 52,842 marijuana farms and 33,019 opium poppy
Opium poppy
Opium poppy, Papaver somniferum, is the species of plant from which opium and poppy seeds are extracted. Opium is the source of many opiates, including morphine , thebaine, codeine, papaverine, and noscapine...
farms. The report claims that these results stopped the distribution of 1,428,124 doses of marijuana, 17,728,000 doses of cocaine
Cocaine
Cocaine is a crystalline tropane alkaloid that is obtained from the leaves of the coca plant. The name comes from "coca" in addition to the alkaloid suffix -ine, forming cocaine. It is a stimulant of the central nervous system, an appetite suppressant, and a topical anesthetic...
, 193,922,000 doses of heroin, and 6,996,000 toxic pills, stopping the intoxication of 647,771,000 people, a lot of them with irreversible damage to their health.
On December 16, 2009, the Mexican Navy killed Arturo Beltran-Leyva, a once important drug trafficker.
The government is relatively successful in detaining drug lords; however, drug-related violence remains high in contested area along the US border such as Ciudad Juárez, Tijuana, and Matamoros. Some analysts, like US Ambassador in Mexico Carlos Pascual argue that this raise in violence may be a direct result of Felipe Calderón's military measures. Although homicide rates in Mexico from 2000–2007 showed a general decline, now Mexico is considered to be among the top ten countries with the highest homicide rates. Since Calderón launched his military strategy against organized crime in 2006, there has been an alarming increase in violent deaths related to organized crime, "more than 15,000 people have died in suspected drug attacks since it was launched at the end of 2006." More than 5,000 people were murdered in Mexico in 2008, 2009 was the most violent year with 9,600 people murdered and the murder rates are expected to be higher in 2010.
Approval ratings
Grupo Reforma
Grupo Reforma is the largest printed media company in Mexico and Latin America. It publishes ten daily newspapers in five cities, including the leading newspapers in Mexico's three largest cities: Reforma in Mexico City, El Norte in Monterrey and Mural in Guadalajara...
taken from February 16 to February 18, 2007, Calderón's approval rating was 58%. In this poll, Mexicans interviewed give President Calderón and his actions a score of 6.6 out of 10. He is best rated in his actions on issues related to health and reducing drug trafficking (60% and 59% approval respectively), and worst rated on domestic and foreign policy (33% approval each).
A poll by Ipsos-Bimsa shows a change in Calderon's approval rating at 57% in November 2007.
In June 2008, Calderon's approval rating jumped to 64% before slipping to 62% in September.
According to a March 2010 poll by GEA-ISA. 45% of respondents approved of their president's performance, down seven points since November 2009 polling at 52%.
Polling firm Buendia & Laredo released a survey showing President Calderón's approval rating at 54% on May 9, 2011.
Orders, awards and recognition
By Mexican Law, any title of nobility in Mexico is legally banned. However, Calderón has accepted them as a courtesy to the foreign governments.Order of the Quetzal
Order of the Quetzal
The Order of the Quetzal is Guatemala’s highest honor. Established in 1973, it is bestowed by the Government of Guatemala. The award acknowledges officials of nations, organizations and other entities whose artistic, civic, humanitarian, or scientific works merit special recognition....
, Collar, awarded by the President of Guatemala
President of Guatemala
The title of President of Guatemala has been the usual title of the leader of Guatemala since 1839, when that title was assumed by Mariano Rivera Paz...
Álvaro Colom
Álvaro Colom
Álvaro Colom Caballeros is the President of Guatemala for the 2008–2012 term and leader of the social-democratic National Unity of Hope .-Early years:...
on his state visit to Mexico, July 27, 2011.
- Bravo Business Awards Leader of the Year, Latin Trade, October 2009. Order of the BathOrder of the BathThe Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate mediæval ceremony for creating a knight, which involved bathing as one of its elements. The knights so created were known as Knights of the Bath...
, Knight Grand Cross, awarded by Queen Elizabeth II of the United KingdomElizabeth II of the United KingdomElizabeth II is the constitutional monarch of 16 sovereign states known as the Commonwealth realms: the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Jamaica, Barbados, the Bahamas, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Belize,...
on Felipe Calderón state visit to the United Kingdom, March 30, 2009. Order of Isabel the Catholic, Grand Cross with Collar, awarded by King Juan Carlos I of SpainJuan Carlos I of SpainJuan Carlos I |Italy]]) is the reigning King of Spain.On 22 November 1975, two days after the death of General Francisco Franco, Juan Carlos was designated king according to the law of succession promulgated by Franco. Spain had no monarch for 38 years in 1969 when Franco named Juan Carlos as the...
on Felipe Calderón state visit to Spain, June 11, 2008. National Order of Doctor José Matías DelgadoOrder of José Matías DelgadoThe National Order of Doctor José Matías Delgado is an honour awarded in El Salvador. The order is named after José Matías Delgado who was a priest and doctor known as The Father of the Salvadoran Fatherland...
, Grand Cross, awarded by the Government of El SalvadorEl SalvadorEl Salvador or simply Salvador is the smallest and the most densely populated country in Central America. The country's capital city and largest city is San Salvador; Santa Ana and San Miguel are also important cultural and commercial centers in the country and in all of Central America...
, March 4, 2008 Order of the ElephantOrder of the ElephantThe Order of the Elephant is the highest order of Denmark. It has origins in the 15th century, but has officially existed since 1693, and since the establishment of constitutional monarchy in 1849, is now almost exclusively bestowed on royalty and heads of state.- History :A Danish religious...
, Knight, awarded by Queen Margrethe II of DenmarkMargrethe II of DenmarkMargrethe II is the Queen regnant of the Kingdom of Denmark. In 1972 she became the first female monarch of Denmark since Margaret I, ruler of the Scandinavian countries in 1375-1412 during the Kalmar Union.-Early life:...
on her state visit to Mexico, February 18, 2008. National Order of the Southern CrossOrder of the Southern CrossThe National Order of the Southern Cross is a Brazilian order of chivalry founded by Emperor Pedro I on 1 December 1822. This order was intended to commemorate the independence of Brazil and the coronation of Pedro I...
, Grand Collar, awarded by the Government of Brazil, August 7, 2007. Order of the Merit of ChileOrder of the Merit of ChileThe Order of the Merit of Chile is a Chilean military decoration and was created in 1929. Succeeding the Medal of the Merit, it was created during the term of the President Germán Riesco through the Minister of War decree No. 1350 on September 4, 1906...
, Collar, awarded by the President of ChilePresident of ChileThe President of the Republic of Chile is both the head of state and the head of government of the Republic of Chile. The President is responsible of the government and state administration...
Michelle BacheletMichelle BacheletVerónica Michelle Bachelet Jeria is a Social Democrat politician who was President of Chile from 11 March 2006 to 11 March 2010. She was the first woman president of her country...
on her state visit to Mexico. Order of BelizeOrder of BelizeThe Order of Belize is the highest civilian honour awarded to foreigners in Belize.It was instituted on 16 August 1991....
, awarded by then-Prime Minister of Belize Said MusaSaid MusaSaid Wilbert Musa is a Belizean lawyer and politician. He was the Prime Minister of Belize from August 28, 1998 to February 8, 2008.-Early life and education:Said Musa was born in San Ignacio, Cayo District, Belize...
on Felipe Calderón state visit to BelizeBelizeBelize is a constitutional monarchy and the northernmost country in Central America. Belize has a diverse society, comprising many cultures and languages. Even though Kriol and Spanish are spoken among the population, Belize is the only country in Central America where English is the official...
. - Leader of the Year, Latin Business Chronicle, December 17, 2007.
- "The World's 50 Most Influential Figures 2010" by British Magazine New StatesmanNew StatesmanNew Statesman is a British centre-left political and cultural magazine published weekly in London. Founded in 1913, and connected with leading members of the Fabian Society, the magazine reached a circulation peak in the late 1960s....
, September, 2010
External links
Office of the President of Mexico site- Encyclopaedia Britannica, Felipe Calderon full access article Extended biography by CIDOB Foundation
- Felipe Calderón's speech to the Mexican people from the 'National Auditorium', 2006
- Father of A Mexican President: Luis Calderón Vega http://www.historicaltextarchive.com/sections.php?op=viewarticle&artid=759
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