Carlos Salinas

Carlos Salinas de Gortari (born 3 April 1948) was President of Mexico from 1988 to 1994.

Related Topics:
3 April - 1948 - President - Mexico - 1988 - 1994

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Salinas was one of the youngest Presidents in Mexico's recent history. Most recently, before being elected President he worked as the Budget Minister in the administration of Miguel de la Madrid (1982 – 1988). Many believe that his government lacked legitimacy because he won the elections in suspicious circumstances involving a complete shutdown of the computer systems that were concentrating the results of the vote in 1988. That impression was reinforced when at a later date the Mexican Congress voted (the majority of the opposition included) to destroy without opening the electoral documentation that could prove otherwise. Other people believed that he in fact won the ballot, albeit probably not with an absolute majority as the official figures suggested – which in fact is not required under Mexican election law.

Related Topics:
Presidents in Mexico - Budget Minister - Miguel de la Madrid - 1982 - 1988 - Mexican Congress

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Salinas, however, quickly launched bold initiatives in order to get such legitimacy. This included reversing the 1982 bank nationalisation, starting official relationships with the Catholic Church and the Vatican State, changing land property legislation, allowing opposition parties to win governships in some states, and most importantly negotiating NAFTA with the United States and Canada.

Related Topics:
1982 bank nationalisation - Catholic Church - Vatican State - NAFTA - United States - Canada

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In his final year however a number of events (murder of the ruling party presidential candidate, uprising in Chiapas, etc.) led to an important social crisis, which became an economic crisis that imploded fully due to actions during the first days of the next administration under President Ernesto Zedillo Ponce de León. Salinas referred to this crisis as the "December mistake" as he correctly argued that it was unleashed under his succesor's tenure and it could have been avoided.

Related Topics:
Which became an economic crisis - Ernesto Zedillo Ponce de León

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