:Felipe Calderón

File:Barack Obama bids farewell to family of Felipe Calderon 4-16-09.JPG with the family of Mexican President Felipe Calderón in Mexico City on 16 April 2009.]]

Felipe de Jesús Calderón Hinojosa was born in Morelia, Michoacán, Mexico on 18 August 1962. He is the youngest of five brothers and son of Carmen Hinojosa Calderón and the late Luis Calderón Vega.

His father was a co-founder of the National Action Party and an important political figure. The elder Calderón occupied state posts and served a term as federal deputy. He spent most of his life working within the party and spent most of his free time promoting the PAN. The young Calderón was active in his father's campaigns. As a boy, he distributed party pamphlets and flyers, rode PAN campaign vehicles and chanted slogans at rallies.{{Cite web |url=http://www.thomaswhite.com/global-perspectives/felipe-calderon-hinojosa-president-mexico/ |title=Emerging Leaders: Felipe Calderón Hinojosa {{pipe}} Thomas White International |publisher=Thomaswhite.com |date=27 September 2011 |access-date=30 April 2013 |archive-date=11 March 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150311082147/http://www.thomaswhite.com/global-perspectives/felipe-calderon-hinojosa-president-mexico/ |url-status=dead }}

After growing up in Morelia, Calderón moved to Mexico City, where he received a bachelor's degree in law from the Escuela Libre de Derecho. Later, he received a master's degree in economics from the Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de México (ITAM) and a Master of Public Administration degree in 2000 from the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.{{Cite news| title = Alum is Apparent Winner of Presidential Election in Mexico|url=http://www.hks.harvard.edu/news-events/news/articles/alum-is-apparent-winner-of-presidential-election-in-mexico| author = Gavel, Doug| publisher = Harvard KSG| date = 7 July 2006| access-date = 9 June 2008| archive-date = 10 July 2017| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170710044843/https://www.hks.harvard.edu/news-events/news/articles/alum-is-apparent-winner-of-presidential-election-in-mexico| url-status = dead}}{{cite news|title=Felipe Calderón|url=http://www.biografiasyvidas.com/biografia/c/calderon_felipe.htm|publisher=Biografías y Vidas|date=2012|language=es}}

Following his father's example, he joined the PAN, with the desire of one day becoming Mexico's president. It was in the National Action Party that Calderón met his wife, Margarita Zavala, who served in Congress as a federal deputy. They have three children, María, Luis Felipe and Juan Pablo.

Calderón is Roman Catholic.{{cite news |date=14 January 2009 |title=Catholic family meeting circles wagons around traditional family |url=https://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5hIo1U4cYgRu7TzDwSqDmWKR6_2yQ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090121132509/http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5hIo1U4cYgRu7TzDwSqDmWKR6_2yQ |url-status=dead |archive-date=21 January 2009 |agency=AFP |access-date=23 June 2009 |quote=Mexican President Felipe Calderón, a self-described devout Catholic conscious of the fact that five million women head single-parent households in Mexico, said a compromise was needed.}}

When asked to reveal his personal positions on abortion, Calderón responded that he is pro-life. His administration sought to maintain moderate positions on social policy and supported Mexican legislation guaranteeing abortion for rape victims, when pregnancy endangers a woman's life or in cases of significant fetal deformities;{{Cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/22/AR2007032200008.html|title=Clerics Unite Against Abortion Bill|last=Castillo|first=Eduardo|date=22 May 2007|newspaper=The Washington Post|access-date=7 July 2009|quote=Current Mexican law permits abortions only if the pregnancy endangers a woman's life or if the woman has been raped ... 'I have a plain respect for dignity and human life and, within this, I believe the existing legislation is adequate'.}} has publicly advocated the legalization of small quantities of cocaine and other drugs for addicts who agree to undergo treatment;{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/03/world/americas/03mexico.html|title=Mexican President Proposes Decriminalizing Some Drugs|last=Malkin|first=Elisabeth|author2=Lacey, Marc|date=2 October 2008|work=The New York Times|access-date=7 July 2009|quote=President Felipe Calderón, who has made fighting drug traffickers the centerpiece of his administration, proposed legislation on Thursday that would decriminalize the possession of small quantities of cocaine and other drugs for addicts who agreed to undergo treatment.}} and approved a right-to-die initiative for ill patients to refuse invasive treatment or extraordinary efforts to prolong their lives.{{Cite news|url=http://news.smh.com.au/world/mexican-senate-passes-righttodie-bill-20081126-6iij.html|title=Mexican senate passes right-to-die bill|date=26 November 2008|publisher=AP/Sydney Morning Herald|access-date=7 July 2009}} In his economic policy views, he supports balanced fiscal policies, flat taxes, lower taxes,{{cite web|url=http://www.jornada.unam.mx/2006/10/01/008n2pol.php |title='Regresiva e ilegal', propuesta fiscal de Calderón |author=Garduño, Roberto |work=La Jornada |language=es |date=1 October 2006 |access-date=6 September 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080609035024/http://www.jornada.unam.mx/2006/10/01/008n2pol.php |archive-date=9 June 2008}}[http://www.noticias-oax.com.mx/articulos.php?id_sec=5&id_art=34628&id_ejemplar=876]. {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927020538/http://www.noticias-oax.com.mx/articulos.php?id_sec=5&id_art=34628&id_ejemplar=876|date=27 September 2007}}{{Cite web|url=http://www.eluniversal.com.mx/notas/329902.html |title=Centran candidatos ofertas en educación y empleo |author=Ochoa, Jorge Octavio |work=El Universal|language=es|date= 9 February 2006 |access-date=6 September 2008}} and free trade.

He supported libertarian candidate Javier Milei in 2023 Argentine general election.{{cite news| last=Lambertucci | first=Constanza | title=El Nobel Vargas Llosa y los expresidentes Rajoy, Duque y Piñera piden el voto para el ultraderechista Milei en Argentina |newspaper=El País Argentina | date=12 November 2023 | url=https://elpais.com/argentina/2023-11-12/los-expresidentes-rajoy-pinera-duque-y-calderon-piden-el-voto-para-el-ultraderechista-milei-en-argentina.html?ssm=TW_CM | language=es | access-date=31 March 2024}}

File:CalderonFox.jpg.]]

Calderón was president of the PAN's youth movement in his early twenties.

He was a local representative in the Legislative Assembly and, on two different occasions, in the federal Chamber of Deputies. He ran for the governorship of Michoacán in 1995 and served as national president of the PAN from 1996 to 1999. During his tenure, his party maintained control of 14 state capitals, but also faced a reduced presence in the federal Chamber of Deputies.{{Citation needed|date=June 2022}}

Soon after Vicente Fox took office as president, Calderón was appointed director of Banobras, a state-owned development bank. He was accused by political opponents of committing abuse, disputing use of certain legal procedures{{Cite web|url=http://www2.eluniversal.com.mx/pls/impreso/version_imprimir.html?id_nota=32279&tabla=columnas|title=Dice Felipe que siempre no|author=D'Artigues, Katia|work=El Universal|language=es|date=25 July 2003|access-date=28 May 2009}}{{dead link|date=January 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} to finance property valued between three and five million Mexican pesos (between US$300,000 and $500,000);{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=W8MZBQqcOcwC&q=Banobras+pr%C3%A9stamo+Calder%C3%B3n&pg=PA246 |title=Conjuras sexenales |author=Fernández de Mendoza, Erasmo |publisher=Ediciones B – México | language= es |year = 2007|isbn= 9789707103047|oclc=191761164|access-date=28 May 2009}}{{Cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/spanish/latin_america/newsid_5139000/5139196.stm |title=La jornada del 'candidato anticipado' |last=Reyes |first=Mariusa|publisher=BBC Mundo | language= es |date=2 July 2006|access-date=23 June 2009}} however, once political objections arose, he used other means to formalize his transaction.

He joined the presidential cabinet as Secretary of Energy, replacing Ernesto Martens. He left the post in May 2004 in protest of Vicente Fox's criticism of his presidential ambitions while supporting those of Santiago Creel.{{Cite web |last=Cascante |first=Manuel |date=2004-06-01 |title=El secretario mexicano de Energía presenta su renuncia a Fox |url=https://www.abc.es/internacional/abci-secretario-mexicano-energia-presenta-renuncia-200406010300-9621804124602_noticia.html |access-date=2022-06-18 |website=ABC |language=es}}

{{Main article|2006 Mexican general election}}

Members of his party chose him as the PAN presidential candidate. In a series of three primary elections, he defeated the favored former Secretary of the Interior under President Vicente Fox, and thus the election of Calderón as party candidate surprised many analysts. The PAN pointed to his competitive primary election as a sign of internal democracy. In other major parties, there was one candidate or all strong candidates but one was eliminated.

Calderón's campaign gained momentum after the first presidential debate. Subsequent poll numbers put him ahead of López Obrador from March to May; some polls favored him by as much as 9 percentage points. This trend in his favor was contained after the second presidential debate when López Obrador decided to start joining the debates. Final poll numbers days ahead of the results indicated that his opponent's prior lead had shrunk further; some polls gave López Obrador the lead, while others favored Calderón and still, others indicated a technical tie.

After three decades of PAN membership, Calderón left the party on 11 November 2018 to found his own party, Free Mexico (México Libre), which sought to debut in the 2021 legislative elections.{{cite news |last1=Rosas |first1=Tania |date=11 November 2018 |title=Felipe Calderón renuncia al PAN |url=https://www.excelsior.com.mx/nacional/felipe-calderon-renuncia-al-pan/1277697 |access-date=12 November 2018 |work=Excelsior}} Its registration was rejected by the INE as the "origin of cash contributions was not accredited, violating principles in terms of oversight, transparency and accountability."{{Cite web |date=15 October 2020 |title=El TEPJF niega registro a México Libre |url=https://www.te.gob.mx/front3/bulletins/detail/3987/0 |access-date=8 December 2021 |website=Tribunal Electoral del Poder Judicial de la Federación}}

{{Infobox President styles

|image=File:Coat of arms of Mexico.svg

|name=Felipe Calderón

|dipstyle=Presidente de los Estados Unidos MexicanosConstitución Política de los Estados Unidos Mexicanos, Art. 80. {{cite web |url=http://www.diputados.gob.mx/LeyesBiblio/pdf/1.pdf |title=Archived copy |access-date=23 December 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130102043233/http://www.diputados.gob.mx/LeyesBiblio/pdf/1.pdf |archive-date=2 January 2013 }}
"President of the United Mexican States"

|offstyle=Presidente de Mexico
"President of Mexico"

|altstyle=Señor Presidente
"Mr. President"

}}

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 proceedings, the PAN took control of Congress's main floor three days before the inauguration was scheduled.{{Citation needed|date=June 2022}}

On 30 November 2006,{{cite news |url=http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,3-2482555,00.html |archive-url=https://archive.today/20110629095934/http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,3-2482555,00.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=29 June 2011 |title= Mexican Inauguration Erupts into Fistfight|author=Hider, James |work=The Times |location=London |date=1 December 2006|access-date=9 June 2008}} 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 sash 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".{{cite web |url=http://www.jornada.unam.mx/2006/12/01/index.php?section=politica&article=003n1pol | title=En Acto Castrense, Calderón asume el Poder Ejecutivo |author=Vargas, Rosa Elvira|work=La Jornada|language=es|date=1 December 2006|access-date=9 June 2008}} 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.

Calderón's inauguration ceremony on 1 December at the Congress of the Union was tense and lasted less than five minutes, as he barely managed to recite the oath of office while the PRD legislators shouted in protest against the alleged electoral fraud and attempted to impede his inauguration, and afterward he quickly left the building for security reasons as some of the legislators engaged in violent brawls.{{cite web |last1=Aleman |first1=Vanessa |date=December 2016 |title=10 años de la investidura relámpago; Calderón juró entre reclamos |url=https://www.excelsior.com.mx/nacional/2016/12/01/1131504 |access-date=5 October 2018 |website=Excelsior}} Besides the claims of fraud, Calderón took office with the smallest percentage of votes for a winning presidential candidate in Mexican history (35.8%), which meant that his administration would face severe legitimacy problems. Only a month after taking office, Calderón declared war on the drug cartels and organized crime, thus beginning the Mexican Drug War. This was considered by many as an immediate strategy to gain popular legitimacy and acceptation for the new President after the convoluted elections.

{{Main|Cabinet of Mexico}}

{{Cabinet table start|title=Calderón Cabinet|hidepartycol=y|hiderefcol=y|narrow=y}}

{{Cabinet table minister

| title = President

| minister1 = Felipe Calderón

| minister1_termstart = 2006

| minister1_termend = 2012

}}

{{Cabinet table minister separator}}

{{Cabinet table minister

| title = Secretary of Interior

| minister1 = Francisco Ramírez Acuña

| minister1_termstart = 2006

| minister1_termend = 2008

| minister2 = Juan Camilo Mouriño*

| minister2_termstart = 2008

| minister2_termend = 2008

| minister3 = Fernando Gómez-Mont

| minister3_termstart = 2008

| minister3_termend = 2010

| minister4 = Francisco Blake Mora*

| minister4_termstart = 2010

| minister4_termend = 2011

}}

{{Cabinet table minister

| title = Chancellor

| minister1 = Patricia Espinosa

| minister1_termstart = 2006

| minister1_termend = 2012

}}

{{Cabinet table minister

| title = Secretary of Finance

| minister1 = Agustín Carstens

| minister1_termstart = 2006

| minister1_termend = 2009

| minister2 = Ernesto Cordero

| minister2_termstart = 2009

| minister2_termend = 2011

| minister3 = José Antonio Meade

| minister3_termstart = 2011

| minister3_termend = 2012

}}

{{Cabinet table minister

| title = Secretary of Defense

| minister1 = Guillermo Galván Galván

| minister1_termstart = 2006

| minister1_termend = 2012

}}

{{Cabinet table minister

| title = Secretary of the Navy

| minister1 = Mariano Saynez

| minister1_termstart = 2006

| minister1_termend = 2012

}}

{{Cabinet table minister

| title = Secretary of Economy

| minister1 = Eduardo Sojo

| minister1_termstart = 2006

| minister1_termend = 2008

| minister2 = Gerardo Ruiz Mateos

| minister2_termstart = 2008

| minister2_termend = 2010

| minister3 = Bruno Ferrari

| minister3_termstart = 2010

| minister3_termend = 2012

}}

{{Cabinet table minister

| title = Secretary
of Social Development

| minister1 = Beatriz Zavala

| minister1_termstart = 2006

| minister1_termend = 2008

| minister2 = Ernesto Cordero

| minister2_termstart = 2008

| minister2_termend = 2009

| minister3 = Heriberto Félix Guerra

| minister3_termstart = 2009

| minister3_termend = 2012

}}

{{Cabinet table minister

| title = Attorney General

| minister1 = Eduardo Medina-Mora

| minister1_termstart = 2006

| minister1_termend = 2009

| minister2 = Arturo Chávez

| minister2_termstart = 2009

| minister2_termend = 2011

| minister3 = Marisela Morales

| minister3_termstart = 2011

| minister3_termend = 2012

}}

{{Cabinet table minister

| title = Secretary of Public Security

| minister1 = Genaro García Luna

| minister1_termstart = 2006

| minister1_termend = 2012

}}

{{Cabinet table minister

| title = Secretary
of Communications
and Transportation

| minister1 = Luis Téllez

| minister1_termstart = 2007

| minister1_termend = 2009

| minister2 = Juan Molinar Horcasitas

| minister2_termstart = 2009

| minister2_termend = 2011

| minister3 = Dionisio Pérez-Jácome

| minister3_termstart = 2011

| minister3_termend = 2012

}}

{{Cabinet table minister

| title = Secretary of Labor

| minister1 = Javier Lozano

| minister1_termstart = 2006

| minister1_termend = 2011

| minister2 = Rosalinda Vélez Juárez

| minister2_termstart = 2011

| minister2_termend = 2012

}}

{{Cabinet table minister

| title = Secretary of Environment

| minister1 = Rafael Elvira Quesada

| minister1_termstart = 2006

| minister1_termend = 2012

}}

{{Cabinet table minister

| title = Secretary of Energy

| minister1 = Georgina Kessel

| minister1_termstart = 2006

| minister1_termend = 2011

| minister2 = José Antonio Meade

| minister2_termstart = 2011

| minister2_termend = 2011

| minister3 = Jordy Herrera Flores

| minister3_termstart = 2011

| minister3_termend = 2012

}}

{{Cabinet table minister

| title = Secretary of Agriculture

| minister1 = Alberto Cárdenas

| minister1_termstart = 2006

| minister1_termend = 2009

| minister2 = Francisco Mayorga

| minister2_termstart = 2009

| minister2_termend = 2012

}}

{{Cabinet table minister

| title = Secretary of Education

| minister1 = Josefina Vázquez Mota

| minister1_termstart = 2006

| minister1_termend = 2009

| minister2 = Alonso Lujambio

| minister2_termstart = 2009

| minister2_termend = 2012

| minister3 = José Ángel Córdova

| minister3_termstart = 2012

| minister3_termend = 2012

}}

{{Cabinet table minister

| title = Secretary of Health

| minister1 = José Ángel Córdova

| minister1_termstart = 2006

| minister1_termend = 2011

| minister2 = Salomón Chertorivski

| minister2_termstart = 2011

| minister2_termend = 2012

}}

{{Cabinet table minister

| title = Secretary of Tourism

| minister1 = Rodolfo Elizondo

| minister1_termstart = 2006

| minister1_termend = 2010

| minister2 = Gloria Guevara

| minister2_termstart = 2010

| minister2_termend = 2012

}}

{{Cabinet table minister

| title = Secretary of Agrarian Reform

| minister1 = Abelardo Escobar Prieto**

| minister1_termstart = 2006

| minister1_termend = 2012

}}

{{Cabinet table minister

| title = Legal Counsellor

| minister1 = Daniel Cabeza de Vaca

| minister1_termstart = 2006

| minister1_termend = 2008

| minister2 = Miguel Alessio

| minister2_termstart = 2008

| minister2_termend = 2012

}}

{{Cabinet table minister footnotes

| *Died in office
**Retained from previous administration

}}

{{Cabinet table end}}

During his first months of government, President Calderón took several actions, such as introducing the Tortilla Price Stabilization Pact and a cap on the salaries of public servants, described politically as "seeking to fulfill a campaign promise to incorporate the agenda of election rival Andrés Manuel López Obrador into his government."{{cite web |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601086&sid=acaQHjtF96DQ |title=Calderon Proposes Cap on Mexican Government Salaries |author=Harrington, Patrick |publisher=Bloomberg |date=23 January 2007 |access-date=9 June 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930072218/http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601086&sid=acaQHjtF96DQ |archive-date=30 September 2007 }}

Calderón created the largest number of universities (96) in the history of Mexico.{{Cite web|title=La Inauguración Del Edificio De La Unidad De Docencia 2 De La Universidad Politécnica Del Estado De Morelos|url=http://www.presidencia.gob.mx/2011/07/el-presidente-calderon-durante-la-inauguracion-del-edificio-de-la-unidad-de-docencia-2-de-la-universidad-politecnica-del-estado-de-morelos/|publisher=Presidencia de la República|access-date=5 July 2011}}{{Cite web|title=Mensaje con motivo del Quinto Informe de Gobierno|url=https://www.youtube.com/user/gobiernofederal|publisher=Gobierno Federal|access-date=4 September 2011}} He was also the only president who granted full coverage and a secure spot in elementary schools to children from 6 to 11 years old.{{Cite news|title=Hay cobertura universal en educación primaria: FCH|url=http://www.lasillarota.com/index.php?option=com_k2&view=item&id=19821:alcanzamos-cobertura-universal-en-educaci%C3%B3n-primaria-fch&Itemid=59|access-date=4 September 2011|newspaper=La Silla Rota|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141009070816/http://lasillarota.com/index.php?option=com_k2&view=item&id=19821:alcanzamos-cobertura-universal-en-educaci%25C3%25B3n-primaria-fch&Itemid=59|archive-date=9 October 2014|url-status=dead}} The Office of Social Aid for Victims of Violence (in Spanish: Procuraduría Social para Víctimas de la Violencia) was created by him in 2011.{{Cite news|title=Calderón anuncia una 'procuraduría social' para víctimas de violencia|url=http://www.laprensa.com.ni/2011/09/02/poderes/71987|access-date=4 September 2011|newspaper=La Prensa}} During Calderón's administration, more than 1,000 hospitals were created, and more than 2,000 were reconstructed and amplified.{{Cite news|title=Más de mil hospitales nuevos en el país: Calderón|url=http://www.argonmexico.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=9786:mas-de-mil-hospitales-nuevos-en-el-pais-felipe-calderon&catid=94:bajio&Itemid=348|newspaper=Argonmexico.com|date=29 June 2011}} During Vicente Fox's administration, only 40 million people had access to a public health care system.{{Cite news|title=Destaca Calderón logros en materia de salud|url=http://www.novedadesacapulco.mx/pais/destaca-calderon-logros-en-materia-de-salud|newspaper=Novedades Acapulco|date=28 June 2011 |access-date=13 October 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141006074229/http://www.novedadesacapulco.mx/pais/destaca-calderon-logros-en-materia-de-salud|archive-date=6 October 2014|url-status=dead}} Currently, more than 100 million Mexicans have access to their country's health care system due to Calderón's effort to implement a universal health care system.{{Cite news|title=La salud no sólo es para ricos: Calderón|url=http://impreso.milenio.com/node/8983816|newspaper=Milenio Noticias|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110702183508/http://impreso.milenio.com/node/8983816|archive-date=2 July 2011}} Moreover, Calderón created more than 16,500 kilometers of interstate highways.{{Cite news|author=Notimex|title=Afirma Calderón que construyó más carreteras que Salinas y Zedillo|url=http://www.excelsior.com.mx/index.php?m=nota&id_nota=758820|newspaper=Excelsior|date=5 August 2011}} Calderón also dispatched military forces all over Mexico since the beginning of his presidency to put down the drug cartels and the increasing violence generated by the criminal organizations that fight with rival groups for territory.{{Cite news|title=President to send more troops to northeastern Mexico|url=http://articles.cnn.com/2011-02-19/world/mexico.border.troops_1_drug-gangs-mexican-border-city-drug-trade?_s=PM:WORLD|newspaper=CNN|date=19 February 2011|access-date=30 October 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110426124743/http://articles.cnn.com/2011-02-19/world/mexico.border.troops_1_drug-gangs-mexican-border-city-drug-trade?_s=PM:WORLD|archive-date=26 April 2011|url-status=dead}}

File:Cristina fernandez de kirchner and felipe calderon 8C95602E8A753CE.jpg, then First Lady of Argentina, six months before she became president.]]

File:CFK_%26_Felipe_Calderón_dec2010.jpg

The administration's move towards universal healthcare coverage remains one of the most popular policies of the administration. He launched Seguro Popular to make this policy a reality. Through his policies, significant health infrastructure has been built and access expanded in many areas of the country, while the costs have been lowered significantly for many people to the point that many medicines have already been distributed free of charge.{{cite web |url=http://www6.lexisnexis.com/publisher/EndUser?Action=UserDisplayFullDocument&orgId=574&topicId=138360021&docId=l:1537317306&Em=7&start=1 | title=Mexico to have universal healthcare | publisher=Lexis-Nexis Global Insight | date=8 November 2011 | archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20160806150147/http://www6.lexisnexis.com/publisher/EndUser?Action=UserDisplayFullDocument&orgId=574&topicId=138360021&docId=l%3A1537317306&Em=7&start=1 |archivedate=6 August 2016 }}

The 2009 Swine Flu epidemic struck Mexico and was labeled a pandemic by the World Health Organization. The administration declared a state of emergency and acted firmly in giving open information to the world about the swine flu epidemic, and it acted with tough measures to contain its spread by shutting down many public services including schools. President Calderón appeared on television explaining the situation and demonstrating basic precautionary measures to take during the epidemic such as coughing into one's elbow rather than into the air. Tamiflu and vaccines were used in 2009 and in 2010 during flu season, and some deaths were undoubtedly prevented by the strong measures that were taken as well as due to a reduction in the spread and severity of the disease. Policies keeping people home and awareness of effective strategies may have helped prevent virulent forms of the virus from spreading as easily as minor forms that were harder to detect and identify. Criticism of Calderón's handling varied from early claims that his administration was not doing enough to later claims that the administration had exaggerated the measures that it had taken.[https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2009-apr-26-fg-mexico-swineflu26-story.html "Swine flu outbreak declared public health emergency"]. Los Angeles Times. 26 April 2009. [https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2009-apr-26-fg-mexico-swineflu26-story.html]

The Mexican Genome Project was initiated by Calderón's administration in part as a response to the swine flu outbreak and to safeguard the discovering of genetic markers that will better target and assist Mexico's 100+ million people in regards to prevention and treatment of diseases and other health concerns such as diabetes. A study on the efficacy of the project confirmed, according to Dr. Jiménez-Sánchez, that "It is not possible today to say genetic variation is responsible for the unique H1N1 Influenza A mortality rate in Mexico. However, knowledge of genomic variability in the Mexican population can allow the identification of genetic variations that confer susceptibility to common diseases, including infections such as the flu." "It will also help develop pharmacogenomics to help produce medicines tailored to people of a specific genetic group, to the creation of drugs that are both safer and more effective." Calderón commended the achievement: "The genomic map of the Mexican population is an essential contribution of Mexico to science and public health. This study represents an important landmark to develop genomic medicine in Mexico to improve healthcare of its population. I commend our National Institute of Genomic Medicine, INMEGEN, for such a significant milestone."[https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/05/090512081744.htm Landmark Study Reveals | Science Daily | 12 May 2009] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160815140954/https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/05/090512081744.htm |date=15 August 2016 }}

Felipe Calderón's administration raised awareness of environment issues including deforestation and climate change through various policy measures such as planting over 8 million trees and attracting green-technology companies to Mexico. Mexico also achieved a significant reduction in deforestation.[https://news.yahoo.com/mexico-reduces-annual-deforestation-34-percent-012033240.html Mexico Reduces Annual Deforestation 34% | Yahoo News AP | 7 Sep 2011] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305055928/http://news.yahoo.com/mexico-reduces-annual-deforestation-34-percent-012033240.html |date=5 March 2016 }} This includes $2.5 billion investment in wind farms.[https://www.reuters.com/article/us-mexico-wind-idUSTRE7667SG20110707 Mexico wins $2.5 billion investment in new wind farms | Reuters | Jul, 2011] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150109005431/https://www.reuters.com/article/2011/07/07/us-mexico-wind-idUSTRE7667SG20110707 |date=9 January 2015 }}

File:President Barack Obama meets President Felipe Calderón.jpg

The country's total GDP on a purchasing-power-parity basis is the 11th largest in the world {{as of|2011|lc=y}} and public policy now seeks to create quality jobs, reduce poverty and protect the standard of living of all classes. The administration has worked to attract investment, diversify the economy away from over-reliance on oil and the US market, upgrade infrastructure that has not kept up with the demands of the large economy, add jobs, reduce poverty, provide for a large middle class and reduce inequality. In keeping with its protection of the purchasing power of those least able to shield themselves through the use of financial instruments, the administration has succeeded in keeping prices and interest rates relatively low and stable even during the Great Recession and European debt crisis, while also avoiding the currency crashes of the 1980s and 1990s.[http://en.presidencia.gob.mx/tag/top-10-transformations-of-mexico | Presidencia.gob.mx | 13 October 2011] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160808100855/http://en.presidencia.gob.mx/tag/top-10-transformations-of-mexico |date=8 August 2016 }} The Mexican economy has been growing more quickly than the US economy during all but one year of the administration, even as US growth has been sluggish.[http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NY.GDP.MKTP.KD.ZG GDP Growth | World Bank] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110531180249/http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NY.GDP.MKTP.KD.ZG |date=31 May 2011 }}[http://useconomy.about.com/od/worldeconomy/p/Mexico_Economy.htm Mexico's Economy | About.com] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160802203333/http://useconomy.about.com/od/worldeconomy/p/Mexico_Economy.htm |date=2 August 2016 }}

The administration has accelerated the building of public works projects and allocated federal funds towards infrastructure such as roads and bridges as an investment in the country's future growth.

In 2012, the massive Baluarte Bridge was inaugurated, which speeds travel between Mazatlán and Durango and allows for faster access between Mexico's coasts. The Baluarte Bridge is so high that the Eiffel Tower could fit under its central span.[https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-16434200 Baluarte Bridge in Mexico is world's highest cable-stayed bridge] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160519041640/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-16434200 |date=19 May 2016 }}

Through investments in infrastructure and free trade agreements, the administration won investments from many auto companies that decided to build factories in Mexico and expand existing facilities and models produced in Mexico. Mexico has become one of the top auto manufacturers in the world and for two years in a row far exceeded the previous records of auto production and export.[http://www.laht.com/article.asp?ArticleId=461547&CategoryId=14091 Mexico Sets Auto Production Record in 2011 | Latin American Herald Tribune] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160816104701/http://www.laht.com/article.asp?ArticleId=461547&CategoryId=14091 |date=16 August 2016 }} The total foreign direct investment during Calderón's presidency was US$70.494 billion.

Mexico also has a nascent aeronautics and aviation industry and large electronics and consumer goods industries, all of which have been attracting significant investment capital and higher-value manufacturing for a skilled workforce. Heineken made significant investments in Mexico's beverage industry during this administration.[https://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/12/business/global/12beer.html "Heineken in Deal to Buy a Big Mexican Brewer"]. The New York Times. 11 January 2010. {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160520062932/http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/12/business/global/12beer.html |date=20 May 2016 }}

File:KOCIS Korea-Mexico summit (4762596485).jpg in Mexico City; 2010.]]

In a move to expand new export opportunities that attract employment and diversify Mexico's crucial export sector away from excessive dependence on the US market, Mexico also expanded its trade accords beyond the US borders and sought to increase trade with the European Union, East Asia and Latin America. It was hoped that new infrastructure would help diversify Mexico's economy and improve stability in years to come. One new cooperative accord between major Latin American nations on the Pacific coast, called PaCiFiCa by the Economist, has helped to isolate the participating nations from some of the fluctuations stemming from the European debt crisis as it looks towards greater trade with Asian nations.[http://www.economist.com/node/18529807 The Pacific Players Go to Market | Economist | 7 April 2011] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160817142406/http://www.economist.com/node/18529807 |date=17 August 2016 }} Mexico maintains positive trading relationships and trade discussions throughout the world so as to make Mexico an open economy with a growing number of trade opportunities for all regions of Mexico and aided by new infrastructure.[http://www.latindailyfinancialnews.com/index.php/en/south-america/south-america-news/finance/11425-chile-peru-colombia-and-mexico-confirm-economic-alliance.html Chile, Peru, Colombia, and Mexico confirm economic alliance | LDFN | 6 December 2011] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130514231847/http://www.latindailyfinancialnews.com/index.php/en/south-america/south-america-news/finance/11425-chile-peru-colombia-and-mexico-confirm-economic-alliance.html |date=14 May 2013 }}

{{Main|Tortilla Price Stabilization Pact}}

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,[http://www.laprensa-sandiego.org/archieve/2007/february02-07/tortilla.htm La tortilla: golpe a los pobres en México] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130626072301/http://www.laprensa-sandiego.org/archieve/2007/february02-07/tortilla.htm |date=26 June 2013 }} 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.[https://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/business/4480518.html Calderon signs accord to contain tortilla prices] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110629034503/http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/business/4480518.html |date=29 June 2011 }}. "The accord limits tortilla prices to 8.50 pesos ($0.78) per kilogram and threatens prison sentences of up to 10 years for companies found hoarding 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 maximum 30% increase in the price of that product (from 5.95 pesos per kilogram to 8.50 pesos per kilogram).[http://www.proceso.com.mx/noticia.html?sec=0&nta=47675 Impugnan diputados política económica y social de Calderón] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927032331/http://www.proceso.com.mx/noticia.html?sec=0&nta=47675 |date=27 September 2007 }}[http://www.elporvenir.com.mx/notas.asp?nota_id=108600 El Porvenir | Local | Protesta ONG por alzas] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303182559/http://www.elporvenir.com.mx/notas.asp?nota_id=108600 |date=3 March 2016 }}[http://www.jornada.unam.mx/2007/01/20/index.php?section=capital&article=034n1cap Reprueba Martí Batres "incremento disfrazado" al precio de la tortilla – La Jornada] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160111130953/http://www.jornada.unam.mx/2007/01/20/index.php?section=capital&article=034n1cap |date=11 January 2016 }} Some tortillerías ignored the agreement, leading to price increases well in excess of the 8.50 pesos.[http://mx.invertia.com/noticias/noticia.aspx?idNoticia=200701291845_INV_30357057 mercados, finanzas, economia, fondos y cotizaciones – Invertia] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071015184247/http://mx.invertia.com/noticias/noticia.aspx?idNoticia=200701291845_INV_30357057 |date=15 October 2007 }} Government opposition argued that this was 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[http://www.profeco.gob.mx/precios/tortilla2007/tortillamer.asp PROFECO, "Quien es quien en los precios / Tortilla"] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160429150626/http://www.profeco.gob.mx/precios/tortilla2007/tortillamer.asp |date=29 April 2016 }}. Soriana 5.10 (pesos per kilogram of Tortilla), Comercial Mexicana 5.80 (pesos per kilogram of tortilla), Chedraui 5.90 (pesos per kilogram of tortilla). – which is interpreted opponents to price controls as clear 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.

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.{{cite web|url=https://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070418/bs_nm/mexico_economy_tortillas_dc|title=Mexico central bank urges renewal of tortilla pact |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070503051139/http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070418/bs_nm/mexico_economy_tortillas_dc |archive-date=3 May 2007 |publisher=Yahoo! News}}

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.[http://www.eluniversal.com.mx/miami/23022.html President kicks off job initiative] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071013151849/http://www.eluniversal.com.mx/miami/23022.html |date=13 October 2007 }}. "The National First Job Program will give cash incentives to companies for hiring first-time job holders" "Calderón said that in addition to young people, the program is aimed at helping millions of women who have never worked."

The program has been interpreted as an effort to stop immigration into the United States.[http://www.suntimes.com/news/world/212343,CST-NWS-mex16.article "Mexico starts effort to slow immigration"]. Chicago Sun-Times. 16 January 2007. {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070211045613/http://www.suntimes.com/news/world/212343,CST-NWS-mex16.article |date=11 February 2007}} Immigration to the United States has been reduced, but many complex factors are involved including the US slowdown since 2008.

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".[http://www.eluniversal.com.mx/notas/403515.html Prevén impacto positivo con Programa del Primer Empleo] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131105095138/http://www.eluniversal.com.mx/notas/403515.html |date=5 November 2013 }}, El Universal, "El Programa del Primer Empleo tendrá un impacto positivo en la generación de nuevas plazas laborales porque es un incentivo para las empresas, aseguró el presidente de la Asociación Mexicana de Dirección de Recursos Humanos (Amedirh), Luis García.", and, "Ejemplificó que Nextel contrató casi mil 300 personas durante 2006, de las cuales alrededor de 14 por ciento fue de nuevo ingreso y 'tenemos pensado un crecimiento similar para este año pero con este beneficio', se podría incluso duplicar el número de personas en su primer empleo." Secretary of Labor Javier Lozano Alarcón has admitted that the program by itself will be insufficient to create as many new jobs as needed and has called for deeper reforms to allow for further investment.[http://www.jornada.unam.mx/2007/01/17/index.php?section=economia&article=023n1eco Insuficiente, el programa del primer empleo, reconoce titular del Trabajo] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160402202238/http://www.jornada.unam.mx/2007/01/17/index.php?section=economia&article=023n1eco |date=2 April 2016 }} La Jornada, "El titular de la Secretaría del Trabajo y Previsión Social (STPS), Javier Lozano, admitió que el programa del primer empleo es insuficiente para satisfacer la demanda laboral del país", and "el funcionario agregó que lo que se requiere es elevar los niveles de competitividad del país y atraer más inversiones..., por lo que hizo un llamado a todos los actores para ir a favor de las modificaciones a la ley laboral vigente que no sufre cambios desde 1980."

President Calderón introduced, on his first day as president, a presidential decree limiting the president's salary and that of cabinet ministers. The measure excludes much of the bureaucracy and public servants in the legislative or judicial branches. According to a Freedom of Information Act request filed by Reforma, the decree will affect 546 high-level government officials and save the government about US$13 million.[http://mx.invertia.com/noticias/noticia.aspx?idNoticia=200701301901_INF_30358916&idtel= mercados, finanzas, economia, fondos y cotizaciones – Invertia] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071015184253/http://mx.invertia.com/noticias/noticia.aspx?idNoticia=200701301901_INF_30358916&idtel= |date=15 October 2007 }} The opposition has stated that the 10% reduction in salary as not being comprehensive enough.[http://www.jornada.unam.mx/2006/12/04/index.php?section=politica&article=008n2pol El proyecto, copia descafeinada de las propuestas de AMLO: priístas – La Jornada] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304001145/http://www.jornada.unam.mx/2006/12/04/index.php?section=politica&article=008n2pol |date=4 March 2016 }}[http://www.revistafortuna.com.mx/opciones/archivo/2006/diciembre/htm/tendencioso.htm Tendencioso Decreto de Calderón para reducir salarios | REVISTA FORTUNA Negocios y Finanzas | Diciembre | 2006 |] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304065705/http://www.revistafortuna.com.mx/opciones/archivo/2006/diciembre/htm/tendencioso.htm |date=4 March 2016 }}

Like his opponent in the 2006 election, Calderón also proposed laws that, if passed, would lower salaries for public servants in all three branches of government and impose a cap on compensation.[https://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601086&sid=acaQHjtF96DQ Calderon Proposes Cap on Mexican Government Salaries] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090626150953/http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601086&sid=acaQHjtF96DQ |date=26 June 2009 }}. "Mexican President Felipe Calderon asked Congress to cap salaries for government officials after issuing an executive order cutting his own pay." The proposal also includes measures to make the remuneration of public servants more transparent and subject to fiscalization.[https://web.archive.org/web/20080609020959/http://www.senado.gob.mx/sgsp/gaceta/index.php?sesion=2007%2F01%2F24%2F1&documento=1 Initiative to Reform Articles 73 and 127 of the Constitution of Mexico] (In Spanish)

{{See also|Mexican Drug War}}

File:Felipe Calderon Lula da Silva.jpg Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva with members of the Mexican Army in the background.]]

Despite imposing a cap on salaries of high-ranking public servants, Calderón ordered a raise on the salaries of the Federal Police and the Mexican Armed Forces on his first day as president.

Calderón's government also ordered massive raids on drug cartels upon assuming office in December 2006 in response to an increasingly deadly spate of violence in his home state of Michoacán. The decision to intensify drug enforcement operations has led to an ongoing conflict between the federal government and the Mexican drug cartels.

On 19 January 2007, five weeks into an army crackdown on narco gangs, Mexican soldiers and federal police captured Pedro Diaz Parada, the leader of one of Mexico's seven major drug cartels, the Diaz Parada gang.{{Cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/idUSN1737467020070118 | work=Reuters | title=Mexico captures Diaz Parada drug cartel leader | date=18 January 2007}}

The next day, in a controversial move, the government extradited several drug gang leaders to the United States.[http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/latestnews/stories/012207dnintlmexdrugs.8234538.html Mexico vows to keep fighting drug trade] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100125121850/http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/latestnews/stories/012207dnintlmexdrugs.8234538.html |date=25 January 2010 }}. "A day after Mexico extradited four top drug kingpins to the U.S., Mexico's top security officials denied that the extraditions were a result of U.S. pressure"

File:Calderon_Lula.jpg

The Mexican government has also ordered Mexican soldiers and federal police into several cities, most notably Tijuana and Ciudad Juárez. In Tijuana and Ciudad Juárez, the army ordered that all local police officers surrender their weapons, as it was suspected that many officers had ties with drug cartels. Other states where actions were taken include Michoacán, Tamaulipas, Tabasco, and Guerrero.{{Citation needed|date=June 2022}}

In a January 2007 interview with the Financial Times, Calderón said, "We have received very encouraging results. In the state of Michoacán, for example, the murder rate has fallen almost 40 percent compared with the average over the last six months. People's support in the regions where we are operating has grown, and that has been very important. Opinion polls have confirmed that, and I think we have made it clear to everyone that this issue is a priority for us".[http://www.ft.com/cms/s/317c1bbc-ab01-11db-b5db-0000779e2340.html Interview transcript: Felipe Calderón] Financial Times. {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070713002851/http://www.ft.com/cms/s/317c1bbc-ab01-11db-b5db-0000779e2340.html |date=13 July 2007 }}

On 9 April 2007, the Secretariat of Defense reported the following accomplishments in the first four months of Calderón's presidency: the capture of 1,102 drug dealers, the seizure of about 500 million pesos, 556 kilograms of marijuana, 1,419 military grade weapons, two airplanes, 630 automobiles, and 15 sea ships that transported drugs, and the destruction of 285 clandestine runways, 777 drug camps, 52,842 marijuana farms and 33,019 opium poppy farms.[http://www.milenio.com/monterrey/milenio/nota.asp?id=502232 Sedena: cayeron mil 102 narcos en cuatro meses] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071013141444/http://www.milenio.com/monterrey/milenio/nota.asp?id=502232 |date=13 October 2007 }}, Milenio Diario, 9 April 2007.

On 16 December 2009, the Mexican Navy killed Arturo Beltrán-Leyva, a once important drug trafficker.{{cite journal|url=http://www.csmonitor.com/World/2009/1217/Mexican-drug-lord-Why-Arturo-Beltran-Levya-s-death-matters |title=Mexican drug lord: Why Arturo Beltran Levya's death matters |journal=Christian Science Monitor |date=17 December 2009 |access-date=1 April 2010 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160818121026/http://www.csmonitor.com/World/2009/1217/Mexican-drug-lord-Why-Arturo-Beltran-Levya-s-death-matters |archive-date=18 August 2016 }}. Christian Science Monitor. During Calderón's term, 25 of the 37 most wanted drug lords were either captured or killed.{{cite news|title=Kingpin bowling|url=https://www.economist.com/news/americas/21564897-most-wanted-men-mexico-are-tumbling-will-crime-follow-suit|newspaper=The Economist|date=20 October 2012}}

The government was relatively successful in detaining drug lords; however, drug-related violence remained high in contested areas along the U.S. border such as Ciudad Juárez, Tijuana, and Matamoros. Some analysts, like U.S. Ambassador to Mexico Carlos Pascual, argued that this rise in violence was a direct result of Felipe Calderón's military measures.[https://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5ilG2_XOB5B3aB241NStUkWfpNNBQ AFP: US ambassador warns of more Mexico violence: reports] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130131034635/https://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5ilG2_XOB5B3aB241NStUkWfpNNBQ |date=31 January 2013 }} Although homicide rates in Mexico from 2000 to 2007 showed a general decline,List of countries by intentional homicide rate. Wikipedia. now Mexico is considered to be among the top ten countries with the highest homicide rates.[http://www2.eluniversal.com.mx/pls/impreso/noticia.html?id_nota=119514&tabla=nacion "México, entre países con más homicidios" – El Universal – MĂŠxico] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110615051605/http://www2.eluniversal.com.mx/pls/impreso/noticia.html?id_nota=119514&tabla=nacion |date=15 June 2011 }} Since Calderón launched his military strategy against organized crime in 2006, there has been an alarming increase in violent deaths related to organized crime, "more than 15,000 people have died in suspected drug attacks since it was launched at the end of 2006." More than 5,000 people were murdered in Mexico in 2008,{{cite web|url=http://www.caracol.com.co/noticias/internacional/mas-de-5000-asesinatos-en-mexico-en-lo-que-va-de-ano/20081203/nota/723605.aspx|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130101195747/http://www.caracol.com.co/noticias/internacional/mas-de-5000-asesinatos-en-mexico-en-lo-que-va-de-ano/20081203/nota/723605.aspx|url-status=dead|title=Más de 5.000 asesinatos en México en lo que va de año – 20081203|date=1 January 2013|archive-date=1 January 2013|website=archive.is}} followed by 9600 murders in 2009, 2010 was violent, with over 15,000 homicides across the country.[http://www.democracynow.org/2010/4/14/charles_bowden_murder_city_ciudad_jurez Charles Bowden on "Murder City: Ciudad Juárez and the Global Economy's New Killing Fields"] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160912122507/http://www.democracynow.org/2010/4/14/charles_bowden_murder_city_ciudad_jurez |date=12 September 2016 }}

Not all those killed by the police and armed forces were criminals. Javier Francisco Arredondo Verdugo, 23, and Jorge Antonio Mercado Alonso, 24, students at the Monterrey Institute of Technology and Higher Education in Nuevo León, were killed by the Mexican Army on 19 March 2010 in Mexico. First the army denied having anything to do with the killings, and then they falsely accused the young men of being drug dealers who were armed to the teeth.{{cite web |title=Sin justicia: A 10 años del asesinato de estudiantes del Tec de Monterrey |url=https://www.sopitas.com/noticias/estudiantes-tec-monterrey-hasta-los-dientes-coronavirus/ |website=Sopitas.com |access-date=23 May 2020 |language=es |date=18 March 2020}}

2011 showed higher homicides and 2012 showed a similar rate as 2011, with 2012 also being a presidential transition year and a year with high security spending nationwide. Homicides in 2020 and 2011 were in the 20,000 to 27,000 range.[http://www.kpbs.org/news/2013/feb/06/drug-violence-mexico-dropped-2012/ KPBS article of Mexican drug violence] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160816184033/http://www.kpbs.org/news/2013/feb/06/drug-violence-mexico-dropped-2012/ |date=16 August 2016 }}

Genaro Garcia Luna, Minister of Public Security from 2006 to 2012, is on trial in the US in 2020 for protecting the Sinaloa cartel in exchange for millions of euros in bribes. The US Department of Justice believes that "thanks to his support, the [Sinaloa] organisation has maintained its activities without significant intervention by the authorities". President Calderón's support for his minister was highly controversial during his term in office, with the latter's connections to drug trafficking widely denounced by the press and opposition parties.{{cite web |url=https://www.proceso.com.mx/nacional/2012/12/2/documentados-en-washington-los-nexos-de-garcia-luna-con-el-narco-111543.html | title=Documentados en Washington, los nexos de García Luna con el narco }}

His government was the first in the world to use the Israeli spy software Pegasus, which was used to spy on political opponents and journalists. He himself was later spied on by the government of Enrique Peña Nieto using this software.{{cite web |url=https://www.sinembargo.mx/20-07-2021/4003433 | title=El primer Gobierno del mundo en comprar Pegasus fue el de Calderón: Proceso | date=20 July 2021 }}

File:G5 meeting in Germany.jpg, coordinated by Felipe Calderón (center). From left to right: Manmohan Singh of India, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva of Brazil, Calderón, Hu Jintao of the People's Republic of China and Thabo Mbeki of South Africa.]]

It was expected that Calderón would continue with the foreign policy started during Fox's term,{{cite news |url=https://www.foxnews.com/story/mexican-rivals-have-different-world-views |title= Mexican Rivals Have Different World Views |publisher=Fox News |date= 26 June 2006 |access-date=9 June 2008}} known as the Castañeda Doctrine, abandoning of the Estrada Doctrine. He was expected to mediate with 'free market' Latin American countries.[http://www.mywire.com/pubs/ContraCostaTimes/2006/11/16/2050075?extID=10051]. {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150908124259/http://www.mywire.com/pubs/ContraCostaTimes/2006/11/16/2050075?extID=10051|date=8 September 2015}}

Calderón had been a proponent of the Mesoamerican Integration and Development Project which was now merged with a similar funding and infrastructure project, the Puebla-Panama Plan (PPP),[http://english.people.com.cn/200704/10/eng20070410_365194.html Mexican summit set to relaunch Puebla-Panama Plan] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140803081129/http://english.people.com.cn/200704/10/eng20070410_365194.html |date=3 August 2014 }} started during the Fox administration. Calderón expanded the Mesoamerican Integration and Development Project / PPP, now including Colombia,[http://www.mexidata.info/id1336.html Mexico's Calderon gives life to Puebla-Panama Plan] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304052220/http://www.mexidata.info/id1336.html |date=4 March 2016 }} and an agreement of cooperation against organized crime.{{cite web|url=http://www.milenio.com/index.php/2007/04/10/57999/|title=Se comprometen países del PPP a enfrentar juntos el crimen organizado |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160822084427/http://www.milenio.com/index.php/2007/04/10/57999/ |archive-date=22 August 2016 |publisher=Milenio Diario}} Jorge G. Castañeda, Secretary of Foreign Affairs during the first half of Fox's administration and proponent of the "Castañeda Doctrine", suggested that Calderón's leadership and the Mesoamerican Integration and Development Project / PPP should be used as a counterpart to Hugo Chávez's leadership of left-wing policies in Latin America.[https://archive.today/20120707054556/http://busquedas.gruporeforma.com/utilerias/imdservicios3W.DLL?JSearchformatSP&file=elnortecom/2007/editoriales/nacional/736283/default.htm&palabra=Casta%C3%B1eda&siteelnorte Plan Puebla-Panama] by Jorge G. Castañeda as published in El Norte. Calderón has stated that "the challenge (of the PPP) is to foster democratic practices with solid foundation in the region".{{cite web|url=http://www.milenio.com/index.php/2007/04/10/57910/|title=El gran reto para la región es cimentar las prácticas democráticas, dice Calderón |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160421200412/http://www.milenio.com/index.php/2007/04/10/57910/ |archive-date=21 April 2016 |publisher=Milenio Diario}}

Another landmark was the proposed Mérida Initiative, a security cooperation initiative between the United States, the government of Mexico and the countries of Central America, with the aim of combating the threats of drug trafficking and transnational crime.

File:I Cumbre de la Alianza del Pacífico, Lima.jpg

The Cancún Accord was a widely praised triumph credited to the deft handling by the Calderón and his team[http://www.brookings.edu/opinions/2010/1214_climate_hultman.aspx Climate Accord | Brookings | 14 December 2010] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111221064225/http://www.brookings.edu/opinions/2010/1214_climate_hultman.aspx |date=21 December 2011 }} and received a standing ovation.{{cite news |url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/2010-12-15/climate-change-treaty-the-longer-it-takes-the/2374486 | title=Climate change treaty | publisher=ABC | date=15 December 2010 | archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20161030072852/http://www.abc.net.au/news/2010-12-15/climate-change-treaty-the-longer-it-takes-the/2374486 |archivedate=30 October 2016 }} Along with hosting and chairing the Cancún climate accord that reached agreements on targets and reaffirmed the agreement on compensating developing nations for damage from climate change, Mexico earned the G-20's trust and confidence to preside over the group during 2012, including a summit in Los Cabos.[http://www.latintelligence.com/2012/01/06/what-to-watch-in-2012-a-leading-multilateral-role What to Watch in 2012 A Leading Multilateral Role | LatIntelligence] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120127062207/http://www.latintelligence.com/2012/01/06/what-to-watch-in-2012-a-leading-multilateral-role |date=27 January 2012 }}

Felipe Calderón made immigration reform one of his main priorities, and in 2008 he and the Mexican Congress passed a bill decriminalizing undocumented immigration into Mexico.{{cite web|url=https://www.pbs.org/frontlineworld/stories/mexico704/history/timeline.html |work=Frontline |title=World Mexico: Border Timeline |publisher=PBS |access-date=30 September 2011 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161116181921/http://www.pbs.org/frontlineworld/stories/mexico704/history/timeline.html |archive-date=16 November 2016 }} He expressed his hopes that something be done to clear up the status of undocumented Mexican immigrants in the US.

Before meeting with President Bush in March 2007, Calderón openly expressed his disapproval of building a wall between the two nations.{{cite web |url=http://cbs2chicago.com/national/topstories_story_072061210.html |title=Cbs2chicago.com - Calderon Blasts Immigration Policy on Bush Visit |access-date=27 April 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927231203/http://cbs2chicago.com/national/topstories_story_072061210.html |archive-date=27 September 2007 }} After the U.S. Senate rejected the Comprehensive Immigration bill, President Calderón called the decision a "grave error".

File:Felipe Calderon Hinojosa - 2007 World Economic Forum Annual Meeting Davos.jpg.]]

According to a poll by Grupo Reforma taken from 16 to 18 February 2007, Calderón's approval rating was 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).{{in lang|es}} [http://gruporeforma.elnorte.com/graficoanimado/encuestas/1a_calderon/ Primera Evaluación al Presidente Felipe Calderón]{{dead link|date=November 2016 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} (requires subscription), by Grupo Reforma

A poll by Ipsos-Bimsa shows a change in Calderón's approval rating at 57% in November 2007.{{cite web|url=http://www.eluniversal.com.mx/notas/459225.html |title=Cae apoyo a Calderón |access-date=26 November 2007 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131105100251/http://www.eluniversal.com.mx/notas/459225.html |archive-date=5 November 2013 }}, Apoyo a Calderón.

In June 2008, Calderón's approval rating jumped to 64% before slipping to 62% in September.{{Cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/bondsNews/idUSN0129989520080901 | work=Reuters | title=Calderon's approval rating | date=1 September 2008}}

According to a March 2010 poll by GEA-ISA, 45% of respondents approved of their president's performance, down seven points since November 2009 polling at 52%.

Polling firm Buendia & Laredo released a survey showing President Calderón's approval rating at 54% on 9 May 2011.{{cite journal|url=http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Americas/2011/0509/Mexico-s-Calderon-popular-despite-massive-protests-about-his-drug-strategy |title=Mexico's Calderón popular, despite massive protests about his drug strategy |journal=Christian Science Monitor |access-date=20 September 2011 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304061109/http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Americas/2011/0509/Mexico-s-Calderon-popular-despite-massive-protests-about-his-drug-strategy |archive-date=4 March 2016 |date=9 May 2011 }}

On 27 February 2012, a poll by El Universal showed a 58% approval rating with only 11% disapproval, a decrease in concern for security from 48% to 33% polled listing security as the top concern facing the government, 42% say things have improved in Mexico since Felipe Calderón's administration, 21% said things have stayed the same, while 34% said things have gotten worse.{{cite web |url=http://redpolitica.mx/encuestas/mantiene-el-presidente-aceptacion | title=Mantiene el presidente aceptación | publisher=El Universal Red Política | date=27 February 2012 | archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120310232706/http://redpolitica.mx/encuestas/mantiene-el-presidente-aceptacion |archivedate=10 March 2012 }}{{cite web |url=http://blogs.mcclatchydc.com/mexico/2012/02/felipe-calderon-retains-his-popularity.html | title=Felipe Calderon retains his popularity | publisher=McClatchyDC Mexico Unmasked | date=27 February 2012 | archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20160806172634/http://blogs.mcclatchydc.com/mexico/2012/02/felipe-calderon-retains-his-popularity.html |archivedate=6 August 2016 }}

Grupo Reforma's poll published between 22 and 26 March 2012 noted that Calderón had an approval rate of 66% among 1,515 people.{{Cite news|title=Encuesta de Reforma revela aumento en aprobación de Calderón|url=http://www.adnpolitico.com/encuestas/2012/04/02/encuesta-de-reforma-revela-aumento-en-aprobacion-de-calderon|access-date=3 April 2012|newspaper=ADN Politico|date=2 April 2012|language=es|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120404003825/http://www.adnpolitico.com/encuestas/2012/04/02/encuesta-de-reforma-revela-aumento-en-aprobacion-de-calderon|archive-date=4 April 2012|url-status=usurped}}

Consulta Mitofsky published a study on 23 August 2012 which concluded that after 22 trimesters the approval of Felipe Calderón fell to 46%.{{Cite web|title=FELIPE CALDERÓN: TRIMESTRE 23 (Ago/12)|url=http://consulta.mx/web/index.php/estudios/57-ultimas-noticias/771-felipe-calderon-trimestre-23-ago-12|publisher=Consulta Mitofsky|access-date=25 September 2012|date=23 August 2012|language=es|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121207063039/http://consulta.mx/web/index.php/estudios/57-ultimas-noticias/771-felipe-calderon-trimestre-23-ago-12|archive-date=7 December 2012}} He ended his presidency with high approval ratings with 64% approving his administration, while 25% disapproved his administration.{{Cite web|title=Cae popularidad de FCH|url=https://www.elsiglodetorreon.com.mx/noticia/812940.cae-popularidad-de-fch.html|access-date=18 November 2021|website=El Siglo|date=29 November 2012 |language=es-ES}}

{{Criticism section|date=May 2025}}

{{Main|Controversies of the 2006 Mexican general election}}

On 2 July 2006, the day of the election, the Federal Electoral Institute (IFE) called the race was too close to call and chose not to publish a large and well-designed exit poll. The IFE called on the candidates to abstain from pronouncing themselves as winner, president-elect, or president. Both candidates disobeyed this call. First PRD candidate López Obrador declared that he had won the election, and soon thereafter Calderón proclaimed victory as well, pointing to the initial figures released by the IFE.[http://www.felipe-calderon.org/felipeCalderon/Sala+de+Prensa/Discursos/2006/Julio/dis_02_07_06.htm]. {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110726051610/http://www.felipe-calderon.org/felipeCalderon/Sala+de+Prensa/Discursos/2006/Julio/dis_02_07_06.htm|date=26 July 2011}}

On 3 July, the preliminary results of the unofficial PREP database gave Calderón a small lead of 1.04%.{{cite web |url=http://prep2006.ife.org.mx/PREP2006/prep2006.html |title=Preliminary Results |publisher=IFE |date=3 July 2006 |access-date= 9 June 2008}} On 6 July, the IFE published the official vote count, resulting in a narrow margin of 0.58% for Calderón over López Obrador. However, López Obrador and his coalition alleged irregularities in a number of polling stations and demanded a national recount. Ultimately, the Federal Electoral Tribunal, in a unanimous vote, declared such a recount to be groundless and unfeasible and ordered a recount of those with supportable allegations, or about 9.07% of the 130,477 polling stations.{{Cite web|url=http://www.eluniversal.com.mx/notas/366854.html |title=Precisan recuento: 9.07% de las casillas en 149 distritos|author=Jorge Herrera, Arturo Zárate|work=El Universal|language=es|date=5 August 2006|access-date=9 June 2008}}

On 5 September 2006, even when the Federal Electoral Tribunal acknowledged the existence of irregularities in the election, Calderón was, after the change of the votes of two of the magistrates,{{cite web |url=http://www.eluniversal.com.mx/nacion/144340.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061105172219/http://www.eluniversal.com.mx/nacion/144340.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=5 November 2006 |title=Dos árbitros electorales cambiaron su voto |author=Ortega Pizarro, Fernando |work=El Universal |language=es |date=18 October 2006 |access-date=9 June 2008 }} unanimously declared president-elect by the tribunal with a lead of 233,831 votes, or 0.56%, over López Obrador. The electoral court concluded that minor irregularities without proof were insufficient to invalidate the election. The ruling was mandatory, final and could not be appealed.{{cite news |url=https://www.foxnews.com/story/felipe-calderon-declared-president-elect-of-mexico |title=Felipe Calderon Declared President-Elect of Mexico |publisher=Fox News |date=5 September 2006 |access-date=9 June 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090730191602/http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,212140,00.html |archive-date=30 July 2009 |url-status=live }}

On 1 December 2006, despite the PRD's plans to prevent Calderón from taking office, the inauguration in front of Congress was able to proceed. Hours before Calderón's arrival, lawmakers from the PRD and PAN parties began a brawl,[http://euronews.net/create_html.php?page=detail_info&article=393731&lng=1]. {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080608172743/http://euronews.net/create_html.php?page=detail_info&article=393731&lng=1|date=8 June 2008}} in which several representatives threw punches and pushed, while others shouted at each other. PRD representatives shouted "Fuera Fox" ("Out with President Fox") and blew whistles, while PAN representatives responded with "Mexico, Mexico". Minutes before Calderón and Fox walked into Congress, the president of the Chamber of Deputies declared that a legal quorum was present, thus enabling Calderón to legally take the oath of office. At 9:45 am CST, all Mexican media cut to the official national broadcast, where commentators discussed the situation and showed scenes inside the Palace of the Chamber of Deputies, Palacio de San Lázaro. At 9:50 am CST, Calderón entered the chamber through the back door of the palace and approached the podium, where he took the oath as required by the Constitution.{{cite web |url=http://www.kcra.com/politics/10442963/detail.html |title=Schwarzenegger in Mexico for Chaotic Calderon Inauguration |publisher=KCRA.com |date=1 December 2006 |access-date=9 June 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070928055952/http://www.kcra.com/politics/10442963/detail.html |archive-date=28 September 2007 }} After the anthem, opposition continued to yell in Spanish "Felipe will fall". PAN representatives shouted back, "Sí se pudo" (Yes, we could do it!).{{cite web |url=http://news.monstersandcritics.com/southamerica/article_1228449.php/Calderon_becomes_president_amid_heckling_from_opposition |title= Calderon becomes president amid heckling from opposition |publisher= Monsters and Critics |date= 1 December 2006 |access-date= 9 June 2008 |url-status= dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071013151435/http://news.monstersandcritics.com/southamerica/article_1228449.php/Calderon_becomes_president_amid_heckling_from_opposition |archive-date= 13 October 2007 |df= mdy-all }}{{cite web|url=https://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-mexico2dec02,1,2007839.story?page=1&cset=true&ctrack=1&track=crosspromo&coll=la-headlines-world |access-date=26 February 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090108101158/http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-mexico2dec02,1,2007839.story?page=1&cset=true&ctrack=1&track=crosspromo&coll=la-headlines-world |archive-date=8 January 2009|title=11 Mexican Agents Are Charged with Kidnapping |website=Los Angeles Times |date=2 December 2005 }}

At 10:00 am CST, the official broadcast ended, and most stations resumed their programming.

As the inaugural ceremony was transpiring in Congress, López Obrador led a rally of supporters in the Zócalo. Many supporters marched down Reforma Avenue toward the Auditorio Nacional, where Calderón would address an audience of supporters after his inauguration. The rally was stopped by a wall erected by the Federal Police.{{cite web |url=http://www.iht.com/articles/2006/12/01/news/mexico.php |title=Calderón takes oath as Mexico's president |work=International Herald Tribune |author=McKinley, James C. Jr. |date= 1 December 2006 |access-date=9 June 2008}}{{cite news|url=https://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/la-ed-televisa16dec16,0,4158778.story?coll=la-opinion-leftrail |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120905173903/http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/la-ed-televisa16dec16,0,4158778.story?coll=la-opinion-leftrail | title=Open airwaves | newspaper=Los Angeles Times | date=16 December 2006 |url-status=dead |archive-date=5 September 2012 |access-date=26 February 2007}}

{{Overly detailed|section|details=|date=May 2022}}

During his tenure as president, there were numerous reports in the Mexican media alleging that Calderón was an alcoholic, based on speeches and public appearances in which the President seemed to be drunk, slurring his words or making bizarre statements. On 2 February 2011, opposition lawmakers in the Chamber of Deputies displayed a banner reading: "Would you let a drunk drive your car? No, right? So why let one run your country?".{{cite news |last1=Mendez & Martinez |title=Trifulca en San Lázaro por manta de PT y PRD ofensiva para Calderón |url=https://www.jornada.com.mx/2011/02/04/politica/015n1pol |access-date=21 April 2020 |publisher=La Jornada |date=4 February 2011}} The next day, journalist Carmen Aristegui reported on the incident, and commented that while she didn't "have any specific information" as to whether the president had problems with alcohol, she added that "this is a delicate topic" and suggested that President Calderón had an obligation to reply to the accusations. This led to Aristegui being fired from MVS, the news company that hosted her radio show, "for violating the ethical code" of the firm. The termination resulted in widespread public protests, and Aristegui was reinstated a few days later. Neither she nor MVS Radio issued an official statement about her return to the air.{{cite web|url=http://www.milenio.com/cdb/doc/noticias2011/2be504ebb2fb2703724fc150cfabf385|archive-url=https://archive.today/20120919123731/http://www.milenio.com/cdb/doc/noticias2011/2be504ebb2fb2703724fc150cfabf385|url-status=dead|title=Despiden a Aristegui por transgredir código ético de MVS|date=19 September 2012|archive-date=19 September 2012|website=Archive.today|access-date=28 October 2018}}

A CNN report in August 2012 revealed the behind-the-scenes story of the firing and rehiring. On 4 February, shortly after Aristegui's on-air comments about President's Calderón's possible alcoholism, MVS president Joaquin Vargas received a phone call from Calderón's spokeswoman, Alejandra Sota. Vargas apologized for Aristegui's comment, and later that day was told by a cabinet official that the government would not be taking action on a matter involving MVS's broadcast frequencies until Aristegui herself offered a public apology. On 5 February, Sota handed Vargas a statement of apology and told him to instruct Aristegui to read it on the air. On 6 February, Aristegui refused; Vargas fired her immediately. Within hours Sota told Vargas she was alarmed by the intense reaction on social networks to the news of Aristegui's dismissal. After several days of public outcry and of extensive communication between Vargas and various representatives of Calderón, Aristegui returned to the air on 21 February.{{cite web|last=Sigler|first=Edgar|title=Los 17 días que 'condenaron' a MVS|url=http://www.cnnexpansion.com/negocios/2012/08/22/los-17-dias-que-condenaron-a-mvs|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120824224643/http://www.cnnexpansion.com/negocios/2012/08/22/los-17-dias-que-condenaron-a-mvs|url-status=usurped|archive-date=24 August 2012|access-date=28 April 2013|date=23 August 2012}}

In 2012, journalist Julio Scherer García published a book entitled "Calderón de cuerpo entero", based on interviews with former president of the National Action Party, Manuel Espino Barrientos. The book details many instances of Calderón's alleged alcoholism, before and during his tenure as President.{{cite web |title=Libro de Scherer revela bochornosos episodios alcohólicos de Felipe Calderón Hinojosa |url=https://www.sdpnoticias.com/nacional/2012/02/16/libro-de-scherer-revela-bochornosos-episodios-alcoholicos-de-felipe-calderon-hinojosa |website=SDP Noticias |date=16 February 2012 |access-date=1 March 2019}}

In March 2017, five years after the end of his Presidency, Felipe Calderón attended a rally to support the candidacy of Josefina Vázquez Mota as governor of the State of Mexico. Many media outlets reported that Calderón appeared to be drunk during the event, with visible difficulties to hold his balance.{{cite news |title=¿Estaba Felipe Calderón borracho en evento de Josefina Vázquez Mota? |url=http://www.e-consulta.com/nota/2017-03-07/entretenimiento/estaba-felipe-calderon-borracho-en-evento-de-josefina-vazquez-mota |access-date=1 March 2019 |agency=e-consulta |date=7 March 2017}}

However, in October 2019, the journalist Federico Arreola claimed that this allegation was false and that he had invented it. He stated that although he helped to spread this rumor, he is convinced Calderón is not an alcoholic. Mr. Arreola stated that he invented the rumour about Calderón's alcoholism after being slandered by him when Arreola was a candidate for the presidency in 2006.{{cite news |title=Federico Arreola Reitera que Él Inventó el Falso Alcoholismo de Calderón|url=https://www.reporteindigo.com/reporte/federico-arreola-reitera-que-el-invento-el-falso-alcoholismo-de-calderon/|access-date=13 November 2020|agency=reporte indigo|date=6 October 2020}}

{{Main|2013 mass surveillance disclosures}}

On 10 July 2013, Mexican newspaper Excélsior ran an article on its website revealing that the Calderón administration authorized in February 2007 the installation of an interception system by the United States Department of State to analyse, process and store phone calls, e-mails and other internet services with the purpose of helping Calderón administration to fight organized crime and narcotraffic, in the context of the Mérida Initiative.{{cite news|last=Lara|first=Paul|title=Mexico reached deal to allow U.S. espionage in 2007|url=http://www.excelsior.com.mx/nacional/2013/07/09/908167|access-date=28 October 2013|newspaper=Excélsior|date=9 July 2013}} The scandal remained largely ignored by the Peña administration even though several newspapers and news websites revealed in September 2013 that the president himself, Enrique Peña Nieto, was spied on by the National Security Agency while he was presidential candidate.{{cite web|title=U.S. spied on Peña Nieto while candidate (In Spanish)|url=http://mexico.cnn.com/nacional/2013/09/01/eu-espio-a-pena-nieto-cuando-era-candidato-segun-filtraciones-de-snowden|work=Brailia (AFP)|publisher=CNNMéxico|access-date=28 October 2013}} On 21 October 2013, it was revealed{{cite news|title=U.S. spied on Calderon's e-mail: Der Spiegel, (in Spanish)|url=http://www.eluniversal.com.mx/nacion-mexico/2013/eu-espio-calderon-959552.html|access-date=28 October 2013|newspaper=El Universal|date=20 October 2013}}{{cite news|last=Lara|first=Paul|title=Calderón allowed espionage and was spied on (In Spanish)|url=http://www.excelsior.com.mx/nacional/2013/10/21/924495|access-date=28 October 2013|newspaper=Excélsior|date=21 October 2013}}{{cite web|title=Der Spiegel reveals that NSA spied on Calderon e-mail (In Spanish)|url=http://mexico.cnn.com/nacional/2013/10/20/la-nsa-espio-el-correo-de-felipe-calderon-revelo-der-spiegel|work=CNNMéxico|access-date=28 October 2013}} by Der Spiegel that the NSA had spied on Calderón and other cabinet member e-mails. That same day Mr. Calderón tweeted that he had personally spoken with the actual Secretary of Foreign Affairs, José Antonio Meade Kuribeña, to "help him" transmit his most energic protest to the espionage he was subject, and later that day, Calderón tweeted that far more of a personal damage, it was a grievance to the Mexican institutions and that he would not make further statements on the theme.{{cite web|last=Calderón|first=Felipe|title=Felipe Calderón Twitter|url=https://twitter.com/FelipeCalderon|access-date=28 October 2013}}

Mexican journalist Raymundo Riva-Palacio criticized (on his columns of 21 and 23 October) the privileges given by the Calderón administration to American intelligences agencies and bilateral cooperation in general, and wrote: "It can be argued that Washington mocked him and betrayed him". Mr. Riva-Palacio wrote that American intelligence agencies coordinated field operations and even interrogated the detainees before Mexican authorities could do their own. According to Mr. Riva, this privileges led to the illegal spying which enabled American intelligence agencies to make a map of the Mexican political world, which (according to him) is demonstrated in many documents where the main concern is the political stability and future of Mexico, and the subsequent spying carried on Mr. Peña while he was running for office. He then criticized Mr. Calderón request to Mr. Peña to investigate the spying carried on his e-mail and his cabinet members e-mails and declared that Calderón should have done that when the first allegations of illegal spying came out in 2009–2010.{{cite web|last=Riva-Palacio|first=Raymundo|title=The betrayal of Calderón (In Spanish)|url=http://www.zocalo.com.mx/seccion/opinion-articulo/la-traicion-a-calderon-1382341335|work=Zócalo Saltillo|access-date=16 January 2014}}{{cite web|last=Riva-Palacio|first=Raymundo|title=Looking for the 'Etat' (In Spanish)|url=http://www.zocalo.com.mx/seccion/opinion-articulo/se-busca-estado-1382515051|work=Zócalo Saltillo|access-date=16 January 2014}} On 22 October 2013, CNNMéxico published on its website that Calderón avoided sending sensitive information through his e-mail, to outsmart spies, and when realized phone calls with other cabinet members, spoke in code.{{cite web|title=Peña on espionage: What I had to say I already said it (In Spanish)|url=http://mexico.cnn.com/nacional/2013/10/22/pena-sobre-el-espionaje-lo-que-tenia-que-decir-ya-lo-dije|work=CNNMéxico|access-date=28 October 2013}} On 23 October 2013, the Secretary of the Interior, Miguel Ángel Osorio Chong, stated that, by presidential mandate, an exhaustive investigation would be carried out on the illegal spying done towards Calderón.{{cite web|last=Quiroz|first=Carlos|title=Peña Nieto ordains an investigation on the spying done by the U.S. (In Spanish)|url=http://www.excelsior.com.mx/nacional/2013/10/23/924773|work=Excélsior|access-date=16 January 2014|date=23 October 2013}}

Throughout his office, Calderón has been awarded several honors from foreign nations.

• {{flag|Belize}}:
• 70px Order of Belize
• {{flag|Brazil}}:
• {{MilAward Desc|BROSCGCol|size=70px}} (7 August 2007)
• {{flag|Chile}}:
• {{MilAward Desc|OOMCHL1|size=70px}}
• {{flag|Denmark}}:
• 70px Knight of the Order of the Elephant (18 February 2008){{cite web|url=http://kongehuset.dk/modtagere-af-danske-dekorationer|title=Modtagere af danske dekorationer|website=kongehuset.dk|access-date=29 January 2019|language=da|date=12 December 2017|archive-date=12 May 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190512015518/http://kongehuset.dk/modtagere-af-danske-dekorationer|url-status=dead}}
• {{flag|El Salvador}}:
• 70px Grand Cross of the National Order of Doctor José Matías Delgado (4 March 2008)
• {{flag|Guatemala}}:
• 70px Collar of the Order of the Quetzal (27 July 2011)
• {{flag|Spain}}:
• 70px Knight of the Collar of the Order of Isabella the Catholic (6 June 2008)[http://www.boe.es/boe/dias/2008/06/11/pdfs/A26812-26812.pdf Boletín Oficial del Estado] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304135222/http://www.boe.es/boe/dias/2008/06/11/pdfs/A26812-26812.pdf |date=4 March 2016 }}
• 70px Collar of the Order of Civil Merit (15 November 2012)[http://www.boe.es/boe/dias/2013/06/12/pdfs/BOE-A-2013-6294.pdf Boletín Oficial del Estado] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304110726/http://www.boe.es/boe/dias/2013/06/12/pdfs/BOE-A-2013-6294.pdf |date=4 March 2016 }}
• {{flag|United Kingdom}}:
• 70px Honorary Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath (30 March 2009){{cite web|url=https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/509363/2015_Honorary_Awards_-_Final.pdf|title=Honorary awards|year=2009|website=gov.uk|accessdate=21 May 2024}}

• [https://web.archive.org/web/20120426170315/http://www.g20.org/en/news-room/speeches/185-sesion-publica-stand-alone-global-economic-crisis-role-and-challenges-of-the-g-20- WEF Global Leadership Statesmanship Award], World Economic Forum, January 2012
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20101219154304/http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/completelist/0,29569,2036683,00.html "People Who Mattered"], Time, 2010.
• [http://www.newstatesman.com/international-politics/2010/09/mexican-brave-mexico-calderon "The World's 50 Most Influential Figures 2010"] by New Statesman, September 2010
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20091024145134/http://latintrade.com/2009/10/leader-of-the-year-felipe-calderon-hinojosa-chief-executive-for-a-changing-nation/ "Bravo Business Awards Leader of the Year"], Latin Trade, October 2009.
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20080505003803/http://www.latinbusinesschronicle.com/app/article.aspx?id=1896 "Leader of the Year"], Latin Business Chronicle, 17 December 2007.
• [http://newclimateeconomy.net/about/members-global-commission/ Honorary Chair of the Global Commission for the Economy and Climate]

{{ahnentafel

|collapsed=yes |align=center

|title=Ancestors of Felipe Calderón {{citation needed|date=January 2017}}

|boxstyle_1=background-color: #fcc;

|boxstyle_2=background-color: #fb9;

|boxstyle_3=background-color: #ffc;

|boxstyle_4=background-color: #bfc;

|boxstyle_5=background-color: #9fe;

|1= 1. Felipe Calderón

|2= 2. José Luis Calderón Vega

|3= 3. Maria Carmen Hinojosa González

|4= 4. Luis Gonzaga Paulino Reimundo Calderón Ochoa

|5= 5. Luisa Vega Bucio

|6= 6. Luis Gonzaga Hinojosa Murguía

|7= 7. María Josefina González Reyes

|8= 8. José Primitivo Calderón Arriaga

|9= 9. Margarita de los Dolores Ochoa Ballesteros

|10= 10. Jesús Vega Guzmán

|11= 11. Práxedes Bucio Camacho

|12= 12. José Donaciano Luis de Jesús Hinojosa y Ruiz de Chávez

|13= 13. María Encarnación Murguía González

|14= 14. José Pedro Isac "Piedad" González Riofrío

|15= 15. María Manuela Reyes Alvarado

|16= 16. Pedro José Antonio de la Cruz Calderón Chávez

|17= 17. María Luisa Arriaga Carabantes

|18= 18. Francisco Ochoa Huerta

|19= 19. María Juliana Ballesteros Huerta

|20= 20. Ignacio Vega ...

|21= 21. Rafaela Guzmán ...

|22= 22. Torivio Valeriano de Jesús Bucio Domínguez

|23= 23. María Gregoria de Jesús Camacho Pérez

|24= 24. Domingo Hinojosa Farfán

|25= 25. María Juana de la Trinidad Ruiz de Chávez y Infante

|26= 26. José del Sacramento Murguía Espinosa

|27= 27. María Josefa Rosalía del Carmen González Marín

|28= 28. Rafael González ...

|29= 29. María Dolores Riofrío ...

|30= 30. Antonio Reyes Tula ...

|31= 31. María Cruz Alvarado ...

}}

{{notelist}}

{{Portal|Mexico|Biography}}

• List of Harvard University politicians
• List of heads of state of Mexico
• History of Mexico
• Politics of Mexico

{{Reflist}}

{{Commons category|Felipe Calderón}}

{{Wikinews category}}

• [https://web.archive.org/web/20170215213340/http://www.quotes.euronews.com/people/felipe-calderon-MAYg0o7x Quotes from Felipe Calderón] on All Views by quotes
• {{in lang|es}} [http://www.presidencia.gob.mx/ Office of the President of Mexico site]
• [https://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9437374/Felipe-Calderon Encyclopædia Britannica, Felipe Calderón] full access article
• {{in lang|es}} [https://www.cidob.org/lider-politico/felipe-calderon-hinojosa Extended biography by CIDOB Foundation]
• Felipe Calderón's speech to the Mexican people from the [http://www.presidencia.gob.mx/en/press/?contenido=28456 'National Auditorium'], 2006
• Father of a Mexican President: Luis Calderón Vega [http://www.historicaltextarchive.com/sections.php?op=viewarticle&artid=759]
• {{C-SPAN|1021192}}
• {{Charlie Rose view|7147}}
• {{IMDb name|1787658}}

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{{s-ttl|title=Director General of the National Works and Public Services Bank|years=2003}}

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{{s-ttl|title=President of Mexico|years=2006–2012}}

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{{s-ttl|title=Chairperson of the Group of 20|years=2012}}

{{s-aft|after=Vladimir Putin}}

{{s-end}}

{{Cabinet of Felipe Calderón}}

{{Presidents of Mexico}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Calderon, Felipe}}

Category:1962 births

Category:Recipients of the Order of Isabella the Catholic

Category:Collars of the Order of Isabella the Catholic

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Category:Collars of the Order of Civil Merit

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Category:Grand Crosses of the Order of José Matías Delgado

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