Fox to take office Dec. 1

Five months after his shocking victory in the Mexican presidential elections, Vicente Fox Quesada, the former Coca-Cola Executive and current head of the PAN (Partido Accion Nacional), took office December 1 with a six year mandate.

Before discussing his cabinet and loaded agenda, let's flash back briefly to July 2, 2000, the day that Mexicans finally voted the left-wing PRI out of government after 71 years of power. Over the years, the constant reelection of the PRI (the longest-governing political party in Mexico's history) became taken for granted by the population. Low voter participation led many to consider the PRI a dictatorship. At last, and to the surprise of many, the PRI was defeated and forced to hand over the reins to the PAN who won 43% of the votes. The PAN victory marks the beginning of a new and eagerly awaited chapter in Mexican history.

The Cabinet:

Fox has appointed a cabinet strikingly different from those of the PRI. He appointed business executives to key ministries. Two of the key appointments are:

(1) Finance Minister Francisco Gil Diaz, known as the “Iron Taxman”, is expected to make tax evaders pay their due.

(2) Foreign Secretary Jorge Castaneda is a left-wing academic who has taught at U.S. universities and served as columnist for U.S newspapers and magazines. This appointment could translate into “more combative stance in relations with the United States and a chill in Mexico's historically warm relations with Cuba.” Interestingly, Castaneda is well-known for his opposition to some U.S. policies including NAFTA (the North American Free Trade Agreement), the very same trade agreement that Fox hopes to push forward.

While Wall Street is pleased with the appointments so far, some concerns arise as to whether a cabinet largely constituted of business executives will be able to run a country effectively.

The Loaded Agenda:

Fox's platform includes the following challenges:

Generating 7% annual growth in GDP and 1.3 million new jobs; restructuring the national oil company Pemex; giving more autonomy to Mexico's states;

pushing NAFTA further (hopes for a common market); strengthening relations with the U.S. and pushing the immigration issue; restructuring crime fighting and attacking corruption; and solving the long lasting conflict in Chiapas.

The international community has great hopes for Fox and his cabinet. He has been touted as the great reformer, the wind of change, the one who will modernize Mexico's institutions and bring hopes for a better future. Will he and his cabinet be able to meet these expectations? Only time will tell.