Margarita Ester Zavala Gómez del Campo (; born on 25 July 1967) is a Mexican lawyer and politician serving as Member of the

Chamber of Deputies The chamber of deputies is the lower house in many bicameral legislatures and the sole house in some unicameral legislatures. Description Historically, French Chamber of Deputies was the lower house of the French Parliament during the Bourbon R ...

for Mexico City's 10th District since 2021. She is the wife of the former President of Mexico

Felipe Calderón Felipe de Jesús Calderón Hinojosa (; born 18 August 1962) is a Mexican politician who served as the 63rd president of Mexico from 1 December 2006 to 30 November 2012 and Secretary of Energy during the presidency of Vicente Fox between 2003 a ...

and served as the

First Lady of Mexico First Lady of Mexico ( es, Primera Dama de México), also known as First Lady of the United Mexican States ( es, Primera Dama de los Estados Unidos Mexicanos), is the unofficial title of the wife of the president of Mexico. Beatriz Gutiérrez Mül ...

during her husband's tenure. Zavala also ran as an independent candidate for the presidency of Mexico between 12 October 2017 and 16 May 2018.

Early life

Margarita Zavala was born on 25 July 1967 in

Mexico City Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital and largest city of Mexico, and the most populous city in North America. One of the world's alpha cities, it is located in the Valley o ...

. She is the fifth of seven siblings: Diego Hildebrando, Mercedes, Pablo, Juan Ignacio, Rafael and Mónica. Her parents, Diego Zavala Pérez and Mercedes Gómez del Campo, were lawyers. Her father was a magistrate in the Tribunal Superior de Justicia del Distrito Federal. She attended the Instituto Asunción, an academy run by nuns. She became a youth leader of the Partido Acción Nacional at age 17. She first met Felipe Calderón in 1984, when both were activists for the PAN party. Zavala studied law at the

Escuela Libre de Derecho Escuela Libre de Derecho (ELD) is a law school in Mexico City founded in 1912. Since its establishment in 1912, the Escuela has had as its only mission the teaching of law, breeding from the principles of academic freedom, outside of any form of ...

, where she graduated with a 9.5 (out of ten)

grade point average Grading in education is the process of applying standardized measurements for varying levels of achievements in a course. Grades can be assigned as letters (usually A through F), as a range (for example, 1 to 6), as a percentage, or as a numbe ...

. Her thesis, ''La Comisión Nacional de Derechos Humanos: antecedentes, estructura y propuestas'', was on the

National Human Rights Commission A human rights commission, also known as a human relations commission, is a body set up to investigate, promote or protect human rights. The term may refer to international, national or subnational bodies set up for this purpose, such as nationa ...

Career

Zavala worked for the private law firms Estrada, González y de Ovendo and Sodi y Asociados. Zavala was a Deputy of the

Legislative Assembly of the Federal District The Mexico City Congress ( es, Congreso de la Ciudad de México, ALCDMX) is the legislative branch of government of Mexico City. Between 1988 and 1993, it was known as the Assembly of Representatives of the Federal District ( es, Asamblea de Re ...

between 15 September 1994 and 14 September 1997. Zavala was a professor at the

Universidad Iberoamericana The Ibero-American University ( es, Universidad Iberoamericana), also referred to by its acronym ''UIA'' but commonly known as ''Ibero'' or ''La Ibero'') is a private, Catholic, Mexican higher education institution, sponsored by the Mexican provi ...

(1991-1992) and also taught law at the Instituto Asunción (1990 to 1999), her high-school alma mater. Zavala is a regular

op-ed An op-ed, short for "opposite the editorial page", is a written prose piece, typically published by a North-American newspaper or magazine, which expresses the opinion of an author usually not affiliated with the publication's editorial board. O ...

contributor to '' El Universal''.

National Action Party leadership roles

Zavala has been a national councilor for the National Action Party (PAN) since 1991, and was the PAN's Legal Director of the National Executive Committee from 1993 to 1994. In 1995, she was a Mexican delegate to the

Fourth World Conference on Women The Fourth World Conference on Women: Action for Equality, Development and Peace was the name given for a conference convened by the United Nations during 4–15 September 1995 in Beijing, China. At this conference, governments from around the ...

. Zavala was named by

Luis Felipe Bravo Mena Luis Felipe Bravo Mena (born September 28, 1952 in León, Guanajuato) is a Mexican politician. He was elected as the 17th president of the National Action Party (PAN) and current Mexican ambassador to the Vatican City. Bravo is the son of Luis ...

to head the Secretaria de Promoción Política de la Mujer, which is the party's office for the promotion of the participation of women in politics, serving from 1999 to 2003. During her four years as head, the proportion of female PAN federal deputies increased from 19% to 32%, the largest of any political party. She was part of the transition team of

Vicente Fox Vicente Fox Quesada (; born 2 July 1942) is a Mexican businessman and politician who served as the 62nd president of Mexico from 1 December 2000 to 30 November 2006. After campaigning as a Right-wing populism, right-wing populist, Fox was elec ...

, advising on women's issues. She was a founding member of the Junta de Gobierno del Instituto Nacional de las Mujeres (2001), which is the government office that works toward gender equality and elimination of discrimination and

violence against women Violence against women (VAW), also known as gender-based violence and sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV), are violent acts primarily or exclusively committed against women or girls, usually by men or boys. Such violence is often consi ...

Chamber of Deputies

Zavala was elected to the

in 2003, as part of the LIX Legislature of the

Mexican Congress The Congress of the Union ( es, Congreso de la Unión, ), formally known as the General Congress of the United Mexican States (''Congreso General de los Estados Unidos Mexicanos''), is the legislature of the federal government of Mexico cons ...

. She was nominated through the National Action Party's list under the principle of proportional representation. She served on three Chamber of Deputies commissions: Commission on Labor and Social Security (2003–06), Commission on Justice and Human Rights (2003–06), Commission on National Defense (2003–06). She was also a member on the Law Studies and Parliamentary Investigations Center Committee (2004–06). Additionally, she served as Sub-Coordinator of Social Politics of PAN's Parliamentary Group. Zavala resigned in April 2006 to campaign for her husband's 2006 bid for the Mexican presidency.

First Lady of Mexico

Margarita's primary objective in the changing Mexican government was to help her newly elected husband run the educational programs throughout the country. As the wife of Felipe Calderón, President of Mexico during 2006-2012, Margarita Zavala was considered "

First Lady First lady is an unofficial title usually used for the wife, and occasionally used for the daughter or other female relative, of a non-monarchical A monarchy is a form of government in which a person, the monarch, is head of state fo ...

" although such function is not defined by the legal framework. She is the only First Lady to have served in Congress, although she served as non-elected member through a position defined as plurinominal by the Mexican law. She served as president of the civic advisory board to the

Desarrollo Integral de la Familia The National System for Integral Family Development ( es, Sistema Nacional para el Desarrollo Integral de la Familia, links=no; SNDIF or just DIF) is a Mexican public institution of social assistance that focuses on strengthening and developing th ...

, a government agency that promotes child and family development. She supported organizations that fight drug addiction and others that help migrant children returning from the United States. Zavala became a pledged organ and tissue donor upon death in 2009 to help promote

organ donation Organ donation is the process when a person allows an organ of their own to be removed and transplanted to another person, legally, either by consent while the donor is alive or dead with the assent of the next of kin. Donation may be for re ...

in Mexico. She launched an anti-addiction program called Nueva Vida, which planned to have 310 centers nationwide as of 2011. Zavala continued to hold influence in the PAN, with the election of

Gustavo Madero Muñoz Gustavo Enrique Madero Muñoz (born 16 December 1955) is a Mexican politician and businessman, great-nephew of the president Francisco I. Madero. He will serve as a senator in the LXIV Legislature of the Mexican Congress after previously being ...

for PAN presidency cited as an example of her lobbying. During her husband's administration her family was involved in corruption scandals, including a privately run, publicly funded day care facility in

Hermosillo Hermosillo (), formerly called Pitic (as in ''Santísima Trinidad del Pitic'' and ''Presidio del Pitic''), is a city located in the center of the northwestern Mexican state of Sonora. It is the municipal seat of the Hermosillo Municipality, Her ...

, Mexico, which caught fire on June 5, 2009, resulting in the death of 49 children. It later became known that the facility never met safety standards, and among the owners was Marcia Matilde Altagracia Gómez del Campo Tonella, a cousin of the first lady. Though she was not found guilty by a jury, many people question a possible interference from the executive branch of the government given the family ties. Moreover, her brother's company, Diego Hildebrando Zavala, was awarded some public contracts both during the administration of Felipe Calderón, and before when he was Secretary of Energy, an issue which some Corruption Watch organizations point out as evidence of conflicts of interest from the former president. Her cousin Luis Felipe Zavala MacGregor was murdered in gang-related violence. Mariana Gomez del Campo, another cousin of her, became president of the National Action Party of Mexico City amid allegations of electoral fraud by other party members. They also accused her of misappropriation of public money from the party's budget, and nepotism as she appointed her own sister, Teresa Gomez del Campo to the local Mexican Youth Institute, known by its acronym in Spanish IMJUVE with a monthly salary of $28,125 pesos which is almost the double of an average salary in Mexico City.

Post-Calderón presidency

Speculations surrounding Zavala's political career began after her husband's presidency ended. She was eyed as the possible leader of the National Action Party, as well as a potential presidential candidate in 2018, though in 2013 she declined both. In September 2014, after two years as private citizen, Zavala revealed her intentions of becoming a candidate for the Mexican

. In January 2015, Zavala formally registered as a pre-candidate for a term as a Federal Deputy, through the means of proportional representation in the fourth constituency, stating that Mexico required a Congress capable of balancing power. She was backed by several members of her party, including former presidential candidate

Josefina Vázquez Mota Josefina Eugenia Vázquez Mota ( o̞.se̞'fi.na'βas.ke̞s'mo̞.ta (born 20 January 1961, in Mexico City) is a businessperson and politician who was the presidential candidate of the National Action Party (PAN) for the 2012 elections. Vázque ...

. However, she was left out of the first 15 places in the PAN's national list, significantly reducing her chances of winning a position in Congress. A day later, she announced that she would seek the presidency of the PAN, stating that the party needed to change. In February, however, she left open the possibility of running for president in 2018. Zavala campaigned for various PAN candidates at

municipal A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

and state levels during the 2013, 2015, 2016 and 2017 election cycles.

2018 presidential campaign

On 14 June 2015, Zavala released a video announcing her desire to run as a presidential candidate in 2018. While attending the

Guadalajara International Book Fair The Guadalajara International Book Fair, better known as the FIL (from its Spanish name: Feria Internacional del Libro de Guadalajara) is the largest book fair in the Americas, and second-largest book fair in the world after Frankfurt's. It is als ...

, she was asked for the three books that impacted her life (commonly asked to presidential candidates), to which she answered: the

Bible The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts of a ...

, ''The Price of My Soul'' by

Bernadette Devlin Josephine Bernadette McAliskey (née Devlin; born 23 April 1947), usually known as Bernadette Devlin or Bernadette McAliskey, is an Irish civil rights leader, and former politician. She served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Mid Ulster in North ...

and ''Caudillos culturales en la Revolución Mexicana'' by

Enrique Krauze Enrique Krauze (Mexico City, September 16, 1947) is a Mexican historian, essayist, editor, and entrepreneur. He has written more than twenty books, some of which are: ''Mexico: Biography of Power'', ''Redeemers'', and ''El pueblo soy yo'' (''I a ...

. Zavala was consistently the front runner in polls among likely PAN presidential candidates between March 2016 and April 2017. She released her 3de3 financial records in December 2016. On May 16, 2018, Zavala publicly withdrew her name from the ticket, ending her presidential campaign.

Political stances

Zavala was a proponent for constitutional amendments that would have allowed politicians to seek reelection.

Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of a ...

members were allowed to seek reelection since 2014 (four terms for the lower house and two for the upper house, total of 12 years, while the president remains limited to one term). Zavala opposes

abortion Abortion is the termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. An abortion that occurs without intervention is known as a miscarriage or "spontaneous abortion"; these occur in approximately 30% to 40% of pregn ...

; with her only political declaration during her time as First Lady being the condemnation of the legalization of abortion in Mexico City. Following the Supreme Court's June 2015 declaration of state laws defining marriage as unconstitutional, Zavala was asked her stance on the matter in an interview on ''

Al Punto ''Al Punto'' (, ''To the Point'') is a Sunday morning talk show hosted by ''Noticiero Univision'' anchor Jorge Ramos on the Univision network. Until 2012, when ''Enfoque'' premiered on Telemundo, it was the only show of its type in the United Sta ...

'' to which she responded: the Court has been clear on

same-sex marriage Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same Legal sex and gender, sex or gender. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 33 countries, with the most recent being ...

, including on a previous challenge to Mexico City's civil code, various resolutions make it

jurisprudence Jurisprudence, or legal theory, is the theoretical study of the propriety of law. Scholars of jurisprudence seek to explain the nature of law in its most general form and they also seek to achieve a deeper understanding of legal reasoning a ...

and "I do not have any problem". However, during an event in which she was collecting signatures for her independent candidacy, a lesbian couple with children approached her, while they were recorded, they introduced themselves to her and, as the recording shows, Zavala's immediate reaction was of shock followed by instructing the person recording to put it off saying "this is something different", then she turned again at the couple and told them "I believe..." and the recording ends abruptly. She was criticized by the media, and was asked again to clarify her position on

which caused her to say she regretted having done that.

Personal life

After six years of dating, she married Felipe Calderón in January 1993. They have three children: María (born 1997), Luis Felipe (born 1999) and Juan Pablo (born 2003). Zavala is a Roman Catholic. On 13 June 2012, Zavala underwent surgery in her right eye to avoid

retinal detachment Retinal detachment is a disorder of the eye in which the retina peels away from its underlying layer of support tissue. Initial detachment may be localized, but without rapid treatment the entire retina may detach, leading to vision loss and blin ...

from an injury; she was submitted to emergency surgery following a retinal detachment on 18 October 2016.

Public image

Zavala became known for wearing

rebozo A rebozo is a long flat garment, very similar to a shawl, worn mostly by women in Mexico. It can be worn in various ways, usually folded or wrapped around the head and/or upper body to shade from the sun, provide warmth and as an accessory to an ...

s, a traditional shawl. Her austere personality during her time as First Lady was contrasted with the frequently outspoken

Marta Sahagún Marta Sahagún (; born Marta María Sahagún Jiménez on 10 April 1953) served as the First Lady of Mexico from 2 July 2001, when she married President Vicente Fox, until he left office on 30 November 2006. Her tenure was marked by her outspoken ...

. Zavala's political discreteness was seen as intentional to avoid the scrutiny Sahagún received for her prominence in the Fox administration.

Honours

* : **

Dame Grand Cross of the

Order of the Dannebrog The Order of the Dannebrog ( da, Dannebrogordenen) is a Danish order of chivalry instituted in 1671 by Christian V. Until 1808, membership in the order was limited to fifty members of noble or royal rank, who formed a single class known a ...

*: **