| | "The PAN's (National Action Party) ultimate success cannot be separated from the personality of its current leader. The six-foot-five-inch Fox is one of the most charismatic leaders Mexico has seen since Lazaro Cárdenas. He has a broad appeal because he can present himself as an earthy farmer (he has been known to give the finger to PRI politicians) and a savvy business executive given his U.S. education and career at Coca-Cola. And in 2000 he made a conscious decision to try to unify the opposition by appealing both to the left and to traditionally conservative, Catholic PAN supporters.He did this, for instance, by allying with Mexico's small Green Party to form the Alliance for Change and by associating himself with left-of-center intellectuals such as Jorge Castañeda and Adolfo Aguilar Zinser, who became his foreign minister and chief economic adviser respectively. The reforms of the 1990s also made elections largely publicly funded, which meant that the telegenic Fox had plenty of money to run Mexico's first "modern" campaign."
"Fox's victory forced the PRI from office for the first time in seventy-one years. Born in 1942 to a wealthy farmer and devout Catholic, Vicente was educated at a Catholic university in Mexico City and then at Harvard. He returned home to work for Coca-Cola, helping the company beat out Pepsi for the number one spot in the Mexican soft drink market. Today, he manages a 1,200-acre ranch where he grows vegetables and raises cattle and ostriches for export. When he ran for president, he was divorced, but shortly after taking office he married his public relations adviser.
Fox is a political veteran. He was first elected to the Chamber of Deputies in 1988. He ran for governor of Guanajuato in 1991 and probably would have won had the votes been counted honestly. He did win the seat for years later and almost immediately began his campaign for the presidency.
Fox is both charismatic and controversial. Although he claims to admire "third way" politicians such as Bill Clinton and Tony Blair, Fox has strong right-wing roots. He also tries to strike an earthy, populist tone despite his family's wealth. He rarely wears a suit, preferring blue jeans and a belt with a massive belt buckle bearing his name. He also does not shy away from controversial statements. During the campaign he referred to his opponent, Francisco Labastida, as a sissy and a transvestite."
There is also a picture of him wearing an Indian(West Indian) outfit, a mustache, and a look of badassity. Clearly, this president is...badass. I think I might vote PRD this November instead of PAN, though if Fox could be reelected, I'd vote for him. Sanabraz, who are you joo gonna vote for?
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| | Posted 4/17/2006 9:03 PM - 1 View - 8 eProps - 6 comments
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