Vicente Fox

Vicente Fox Quesada (born 2 July 1942 in Mexico City) is a Mexican businessman and politician who served as the 55th President of Mexico from 1 December 2000 to 30 November 2006. A former executive at Coca-Cola's Mexican operations, he entered politics through the Partido Acción Nacional (PAN), serving as a federal deputy and as Governor of Guanajuato (1995–1999) before winning the 2000 presidential election.

Fox's victory over the PRI candidate Francisco Labastida is widely regarded as a turning point in Mexican democratization, ending 71 consecutive years of rule by the Partido Revolucionario Institucional (PRI). His campaign emphasized political alternation, anti-corruption measures, and economic modernization.

In office, Fox pursued closer ties with the United States and Canada under NAFTA, and initially sought a comprehensive migration agreement with the George W. Bush administration. Those talks largely stalled after the September 11, 2001 attacks reoriented U.S. priorities toward security. Fox also publicly opposed the 2003 U.S.-led invasion of Iraq while Mexico held a non-permanent seat on the UN Security Council, declining to support a second resolution authorizing force.

Domestically, his administration launched social programs such as Oportunidades (a continuation and expansion of Progresa) and Seguro Popular, the public health insurance scheme enacted in 2003. However, his legislative agenda was constrained by a divided Congress, and major fiscal and energy reforms failed to pass.

Fox's foreign policy featured tensions with Fidel Castro's Cuba — notably the 2002 "comes y te vas" incident at the Monterrey UN Financing for Development conference — and a more activist posture in the Organization of American States. After leaving office, succeeded by fellow panista Felipe Calderón, Fox became a vocal commentator on Mexican politics, often clashing publicly with later presidents including Andrés Manuel López Obrador and with Donald Trump over border and trade policy.