José López Portillo

José López Portillo y Pacheco (June 16, 1920 ? February 17, 2004) was the President of Mexico from 1976 to 1982.

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Born in Mexico City, López Portillo studied Law at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) before beginning his political career with the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) in 1959.

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He held several positions in the administrations of his two predecessors before being appointed to serve as finance minister under Luis Echeverría, a close friend, from 1973 to 1975.

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López Portillo undertook an ambitious program to promote Mexico's economic development with revenues stemming from the discovery of new petroleum reserves in the states of Veracruz and Tabasco by Petróleos Mexicanos (Pemex), the country's publicly owned oil company.

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López Portillo undertook actions which were highly controversial with respect to the international banking establishment. One of his last actions as president, announced during his annual State of the Nation address on September 1, 1982, was to order the nationalization of the country's banking system.

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López Portillo was the last nationalist president to emerge from the ranks of the PRI. Subsequent presidents have all been U.S.-educated advocates of free trade (librecambismo).

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His opponents internationally and domestically accused López Portillo of "rampant corruption," "excessive overseas borrowing," galloping inflation (which continued with his successor), and responsibility for devaluations of the peso.

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His obituary in the New York Times referred to his well publicized generosity toward his one time mistress, Rosa Luz Alegría as "a symbol of the era's political decadence". He bought her a US$2 million mansion in Acapulco.

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President: President is a title held by many leaders of organizations, companies, universities, and countries. Etymologically, a "president" is one who presides, who sits in leadership (from Latin prae- "before" + sedere "to sit"). Originally, the term usually referred to the presiding officer of a ceremony or...

Mexico: The United Mexican States or Mexico (Spanish: Estados Unidos Mexicanos or M?xico; regarding the use of the variant spelling M?jico, see section The name below) is a country located in North America, bordered by the United States to the north, and Belize and Guatemala to the southeast. It is the nort...

Mexico City: Mexico City (Spanish: Ciudad de M?xico) is the name of a megacity located in the Valley of Mexico (Valle de M?xico), a large valley in the high plateaus (altiplano) at the center of Mexico, about 2,240 metres (7,349 feet) above sea-level, surrounded on most sides by volcanoes towering at 4,000 to 5,...

José López Portillo related Images and Photos (experimental)

Claude Rich and Marie-José Nat: La Française et L'Amour 1960

Nadja Tiller José Luis de Villalonga and Pierre Brasseur: L'Affaire Nina B. 1961

Jean Gabin Roger Dumas and Marie-José Nat: Rue Des Prairies 1959