Topic summary
Mexican history
Extracted from the Wikipedia article History of Mexico.
President Vicente Fox Quesada (2000–2006)
Emphasizing the need to upgrade infrastructure, modernize the tax system and labor laws, integrate with the U.S. economy, and allow private investment in the energy sector, Vicente Fox Quesada, the candidate of the National Action Party (PAN), was elected president of Mexico on 2 July 2000, ending PRI's 71-year-long control of the office. Though Fox's victory was partly due to popular discontent with decades of unchallenged PRI hegemony, Fox's opponent, Francisco Labastida, conceded defeat on the night of the election—a first in Mexican history. A further sign of the quickening of Mexican democracy was the fact that PAN failed to win a majority in both chambers of Congress. This situation prevented Fox from implementing his reform pledges. Nonetheless, the transfer of power in 2000 was quick and peaceful.