(Argentina Twitter)-Felipe de Jesús Calderón Hinojosa, 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 National Action Party (PAN), one of the three major Mexican political parties.
Calderón's narrow victory at election and ascendancy to the presidency was fraught with strife and controversy, and actively challenged by his opponents. The results were contested by his closest opponent, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, who started what he called a "pacific civil resistance". Calderon's victory was confirmed on September 5, 2006 by the Federal Electoral Tribunal.
Prior to the presidency, Calderón actively participated in PAN politics. He has served as National President of the Party, Federal Deputy, and Secretary of Energy in Vicente Fox's cabinet.
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's subsidiary in Mexico as an example for hiring 14% of its new workforce in 2006 as people in their "first employment"
Immigration reform
Felipe Calderón has made immigration reform one of his main priorities.
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".
Economic policy
The international price of corn 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.
Foreign policy
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 Puebla-Panama Plan (PPP), started during the Fox administration. However, more than a simple continuation, 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.
Calderón's narrow victory at election and ascendancy to the presidency was fraught with strife and controversy, and actively challenged by his opponents. The results were contested by his closest opponent, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, who started what he called a "pacific civil resistance". Calderon's victory was confirmed on September 5, 2006 by the Federal Electoral Tribunal.
Prior to the presidency, Calderón actively participated in PAN politics. He has served as National President of the Party, Federal Deputy, and Secretary of Energy in Vicente Fox's cabinet.
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's subsidiary in Mexico as an example for hiring 14% of its new workforce in 2006 as people in their "first employment"
Immigration reform
Felipe Calderón has made immigration reform one of his main priorities.
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".
Economic policy
The international price of corn 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.
Foreign policy
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 Puebla-Panama Plan (PPP), started during the Fox administration. However, more than a simple continuation, 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.
Political and social views
Calderon describes himself as a devout Catholic and as such personally opposes euthanasia,unrestricted abortion, and gay marriage. Nevertheless, he supports current 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 cocaine 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 taxes, lower taxes, and free trade.
Presidency
Inauguration and cabinet appointments
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 Deputies. 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 using words from his presidential campaign
Approval ratings
Speaking during Latin America Broadens Its Horizons, a session at the 2007 Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum.
According to a Parametria poll conducted from January 27 to January 30, Calderón's approval rating was 48%. The director of the polling firm, Francisco Abundis, attributed the decrease in Calderón's rating from an earlier 70% principally to the increase in the price of tortilla.
However, according to a poll by Grupo Reforma taken from February 16 to February 18, Calderón's current approval rating is of 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). Sixty percent of those interviewed judged that honesty was Calderón's best attribute during these first months of government. However, Reforma's breakdown of Calderóns approval rating found that the 54% of the interviewed who thought the 2006 election was legitimate gave the president a 77% approval rating, while the 34% who said they did not think the 2006 election was legitimate gave the president an approval rating of only 34%.
Orders, awards and recognition
By Mexican Law none of these titles are valid, and the President has accepted them as a courtesy to the foreign governments.
Bravo Business Awards Leader of the Year, Latin Trade, October 2009.
Order of the Bath, Knight Grand Cross, awarded by Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom on Felipe Calderón state visit to the United Kingdom, 30 March 2009.
Order of Isabel the Catholic, Grand Cross with Collar, awarded by King Juan Carlos I of Spain on Felipe Calderón state visit to Spain, June 11, 2008.
National Order of Doctor José Matías Delgado, Grand Cross, awarded by the Government of El Salvador, March 4, 2008
Order of the Elephant, Knight, awarded by Queen Margrethe II of Denmark on her state visit to Mexico, February 18, 2008.
National Order of the Southern Cross, Grand Collar, awarded by the Government of Brazil, August 7, 2007.
Order of the Merit of Chile, Collar, awarded by the President of Chile Michelle Bachelet on her state visit to Mexico.
Order of Belize, awarded by then-Prime Minister of Belize Said Musa on Felipe Calderon state visit to Belize.
Leader of the Year, Latin Business Chronicle, December 17, 2007.
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