Ernesto Zedillo, Mexican economist and politician, 54th President of Mexico
Ernesto Zedillo Ponce de León CYC GColIH GCMG (Spanish pronunciation: [eɾˈnesto seˈðiʝo]; born 27 December 1951) is a Mexican economist and politician. He was President of Mexico from 1 December 1994 to 30 November 2000, as the last of the uninterrupted 71-year line of Mexican presidents from the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI).
During his presidency, he faced one of the worst economic crises in Mexico's history, which started only weeks after he took office. He distanced himself from his predecessor Carlos Salinas de Gortari, blaming his administration for the crisis (although President Zedillo himself did not deviate from the neoliberal policies of his two predecessors), and oversaw the arrest of his brother Raúl Salinas de Gortari. His administration was also marked, among other things, by renewed clashes with the EZLN and the Popular Revolutionary Army; the controversial implementation of Fobaproa to rescue the national banking system; a political reform which allowed residents of the Federal District (Mexico City) to elect their own mayor; and the Aguas Blancas and Acteal massacres perpetrated by State forces.Although Zedillo's policies eventually led to a relative economic recovery, popular discontent with seven decades of PRI rule led to the party losing, for the first time, its legislative majority in the 1997 midterm elections, and in the 2000 general election the right-wing opposition National Action Party's candidate Vicente Fox won the Presidency of the Republic, putting an end to 71 years of uninterrupted PRI rule. Zedillo's admission of the PRI's defeat and his peaceful handing of power to his successor improved his image in the final months of his administration, and he left office with an approval rating of 60%.Since the ending of his term as president in 2000, Zedillo has been a leading voice on globalization, especially its impact on relations between developed and developing nations.
He is currently Director of the Center for the Study of Globalization at Yale University and is on the board of directors at the Inter-American Dialogue and Citigroup.
1951Dec, 27
Ernesto Zedillo
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Events on 1951
- 11Apr
President Truman's relief of General Douglas MacArthur
Korean War: President Harry Truman relieves General of the Army Douglas MacArthur of overall command in Korea. - 22Apr
Battle of Kapyong
Korean War: The Chinese People's Volunteer Army begin assaulting positions defended by the Royal Australian Regiment and the Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry at the Battle of Kapyong. - 25Apr
Battle of Kapyong
Korean War: Assaulting Chinese forces are forced to withdraw after heavy fighting with UN forces, primarily made up of Australian and Canadian troops, at the Battle of Kapyong. - 3May
Harry Truman
The United States Senate Committee on Armed Services and United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations begin their closed door hearings into the dismissal of General Douglas MacArthur by U.S. President Harry Truman. - 15Oct
Combined oral contraceptive pill
Mexican chemist Luis E. Miramontes conducts the very last step of the first synthesis of norethisterone, the progestin that would later be used in one of the first three oral contraceptives.